


Rise of The Gamer

by MoneA



Category: Naruto, 더 게이머 | The Gamer (Webcomic)
Genre: Crossover, Family, Self-Insert, semi-au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2020-11-15 11:51:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 85,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20865758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoneA/pseuds/MoneA
Summary: A man is reborn into the world of Naruto with abilities similar to those of The Gamer.





	1. Chapter 1

**Rise of The Gamer**

* * *

_'_ _I feel like I'm floating on clouds.'_

My first thought upon regaining consciousness after that stupid 18-wheeler in the next lane lost control was that my surroundings were warm and comfortable. Also dark, very dark. Someone nearby was playing drums of some kind, some sort of repeating rhythm.

_'Why is it so dark? And who the hell is playing drums?'_

Looking around didn't help, everywhere was just dark. The drum beat sounded familiar though. It sounds like a heartbeat. If it is a heartbeat, that heart sure is beating fast.

_'Who is playing drums in the rhythm of a heartbeat? Wait a minute, is that my heartbeat? No that can't be right, it's way too loud to be mine.’_

I suddenly realized that my surroundings were constricting against my entire body. A warm liquid substance permeated my surroundings.

_'Holy shit, was I eaten by a giant snake of some kind? Oh my God! What a shitty way to die! Oh God I'm in its stomach! Wait do snakes even have a stomach area or is it just one long stomach? Argh focus! How do I get out of here?'_

Struggling proved futile. I could barely wiggle my arms and legs.

_'Oh God I can barely feel my fingers and toes. Son of a bitch! Have they been partially digested? Is it because they have a larger surface area like how fries absorb more cooking oil due to a large surface area? Did my fingers and toes absorb more snake stomach juice compared to the rest of my body? Argh why am I thinking of this shit right now!'_

The constricting feeling seemed to intensify and I felt myself slowly moving upwards.

_‘Nooo I’m moving deeper into the snake’s stomach! Oh God I’m gonna get turned into snake shit. Is snake shit brown like human shit? Oh who cares what color snake shit is! I don’t want to be snake shit! Wait a minute, muffled voices! I hear muffled voices! There are people out there! I’m saved!’_

My joy was short-lived as I felt my head getting crushed.

_‘Noooo! Is this how Oberyn Martell felt as The Mountain was crushing his skull? Why am I getting crushed now? Don’t snakes crush their prey before they eat them? None of this makes sense! What the shit kind of snake is this!?’_

Suddenly I felt a giant claw grab the top of my head.

_‘Oh shit there’s a giant crab inside this snake stomach!’_

I felt myself getting pulled upwards by the claw. Noticing the absence of the warm liquid around my body and the cold rush of air against portions of my skin, I realized that I was outside the snake now.

_'Oh thank God I’m out! Stupid snake! Stupid crab! Stupid 18-wheeler!’_

Pain. A pain unlike anything I have ever felt before.

_‘Did someone just hit me with a cricket bat? Or one of those 50 Shades of Grey paddles? Holy shit that hurts!’_

I cried out as the pain blossomed on my buttocks, spreading to my upper thighs and lower back. Opening my eyes to look at my attacker…

“HOLY SHIT! ARE YOU A GIANT? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. Or rather, what I thought I screamed at the top of my lungs. What came out instead sounded more along the lines of “WAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

_‘What the? Why can’t I speak properly? Why does my tongue feel so weird? Must be the snake stomach juice or something. And why is everything so blurry? Oh right, I don’t have my glasses on right now. Snake stomach and all that.’_

The giant woman then began speaking gibberish in a loud booming tone.

_‘Shit I don’t speak giant. What language do giants even speak? Did this giant woman save me from the snake?’_

Turning my head out of curiosity to look at the snake...

_‘Can’t really see properly without my glasses but that looks a lot like a pair of legs and an opened woman’s vagi- ... ... OH GOD! OH SHIT! WHAT THE HELL! DID I JUST COME OUT OF THAT? WHAT THE SHIT IS HAPPENING!’_

In my confusion and panic I barely managed to notice that the giant woman was now handing me over to the other giant woman, the one I apparently just came out of.

_‘Eeeewwww. Gross gross gross. This is so gross. How did I even end up in this giant woman’s birth canal? Wait a minute. Birth canal? Birth? SHIT! Was I just born? Am I a baby?’_

Looking down at my body confirmed my worst fears. I was looking at what could only be a baby’s body. Apparently a newborn baby's body.

“OHHHH SHIIIIIIIIT!” was what I wanted to shout. All that came out was “WAAAA WAAAAAAAAAA!”

The woman holding me was saying something to me in a soft voice. With no idea what she was saying, I tried focusing on her face. I couldn’t really see her facial features, other than noticing that she had black hair, two dark colored eyes and a mouth. I assumed that she had a nose but I couldn’t really see it with my baby vision. So, I reached out to confirm. Yup, she has a nose.

_‘What is she saying? It sounds like Japanese. Is she speaking Japanese? Was I born in Japan? Oh shit, I don’t know anything about Japanese culture other than sushi rolls taste good, especially the chicken rolls. Is it still called sushi if the rolls consist of chicken? I thought sushi means fish. Huh. Maybe I can ask my new mother. No, she would think I'm being weird._

_Oh shit, does this mean I died in my previous life? Oh man, who’s gonna feed Benji? Probably my brother. I hope he doesn’t feed Benji any of that shit from Purina, heard their fillers are really unhealthy. Argh focus!_

_Ok, what are the facts? Fact one, old life gone, have been reincarnated and am now Asian with a high possibility of being Japanese. Fact two, reincarnation is apparently a thing. Wonder why no one has ever exposed this? I mean this is some major shit man! Wonder what the religious people would say about this? Wait a minute, is there some kind of conspiracy going on? Argh focus!_

_Fact three, no need to work at that stupid job anymore! Stupid manager can kiss my ass. Ugh woman managers are the worst, with that stupid chip on their shoulder about how men have it all and bla bla so they feel the need to go above and beyond to prove who knows what, with the end result being that these woman managers are more competitive and egotistical than their male counterparts. And then they complain about why everyone likes the male managers more. Ugh. I’ve had six woman managers in four jobs. Are there more women in middle management now or something? Ugh, what shit luck._

_Guess that's why I died from a freaking road accident. Thousands of people have road accidents every year, yet only a small handful are fatal. Why did mine have to be one of the fatal ones? I finally paid off my student loans last month too. Ah shit, what a waste. If I had known I would die I wouldn’t have paid off that stupid student loan. Hope this life isn’t as unlucky as the previous one.’_

My musings were interrupted when what appears to be a large man entered the room, speaking in a loud excited voice. The woman holding me tilted me towards the man. I felt like some sort of live exhibition on display at an art gallery. The man was speaking excitedly while motioning in my general direction.

_‘Yup, that sounds like Japanese to me. Wonder what he’s saying? He seems happy. Hmm he also has black hair and dark colored eyes. Guess I’ll have black hair and dark colored eyes in this life. Cool.’_

The woman who I now assume was the midwife then exited the room carrying a bucket of some kind along with a bunch of red colored cloths. Six smaller people then entered the room, speaking excitedly and motioning in my general direction.

_‘The woman holding me and the giant man standing before me are probably my new parents, but who are these six smaller-sized people? Wait a minute, are these my siblings? Oh my God I have six siblings? I thought this was Japan! Aren’t their birth rates like really low? Six siblings!! Oh my poor new mother, she should just install a zipper on that thing.’_

As I focused on the new faces appearing before me up close one by one, I couldn’t help but notice that they were all vaguely female. I was hoping that due to my baby vision that I had seen wrongly, but all six had long hair of varying lengths and their tone of voice were rather high pitched. So, I either had six brothers who had long hair of varying lengths in Japan, a country known for their conservative culture... or I had six sisters.

_‘Oh shit! Oh shit! Do I have six older sisters? What the hell! Am I the only son? Are you kidding me?! Ahh I hope they’re not the bossy types. If they are then I take it back, I rather have six woman managers than six older sisters! Cause at least you can quit your job, you can’t quit your freaking family though! Not for close to two decades anyway. Wait a minute, what's the culture here in Japan regarding turning 18?’_

After what felt like several hours (but in actuality was only a few minutes) I felt tired. Really tired. As if I had just completed a full ironman triathlon tired.

_‘Why do I feel so tired? Baby body? Baby body. Man, those words feel weird together. Baby body. Hehe.’_

I tiredly closed my eyes and fell asleep in my new mother’s bosom, failing to notice that the walls, ceiling and floor of the room were made of wood and that this room looked nowhere near what a hospital room would look like.

* * *

“Oh look he’s fallen asleep,” Amano Takeji whispered to his wife while looking longingly at his son.

“Yes he has,” replied a smiling Kanemoto Sayuri. “Finally, you have a son. Does this mean we won’t have any more children after this Takeji-san?”

“We’ll see,” Takeji replied while smirking playfully at his wife. He was rewarded with a gentle punch to his bicep. “So, what should we name him? Hmm, I was thinking of a good strong name like Sozen or perhaps a steady and firm name like Kanbe. What do you think Sayuri-chan?”

“Amano Sozen. Hmmm. Amano Kanbe. Hmmm. Either just doesn’t feel right. What other names did you have in mind?” replied a tired Sayuri, her eyes half closed by now.

“Hmmm, how about Genji? Amano Genji. That seems to roll off the tongue,” he replied while looking hopefully at his wife.

“Genji? Why Genji? Doesn’t that name mean ‘two beginnings’?” Sayuri questioned. “Hold on, are you naming him Genji just because you now have a male heir to pass on the family business to and the two beginnings signifies the two halves of your life, one without a male heir and one with?” Sayuri said while her eyes widened then quickly narrowed rather dangerously at her husband.

“Uhh, of course not. I just, um, I thought it sounded cool that’s all! No really! We can name him something else if you feel that strongly about it,” Takeji stammered out.

_‘I knew it! This man is so easy to figure out! Then again, he is a good husband who has never cheated on me unlike all his business associates. Poor Azumi-chan, finding out about her husband’s two mistresses when she was eight months pregnant. Fine, I’ll let him name our son Genji’_, thought Sayuri while she continued to stare at her husband, his face looking hopefully as well as nervously at her like a child awaiting their parent’s decision on whether or not they could have a slice of cake. “Ok, we can name him Genji. Amano Genji. Yeah, that does roll off the tongue,” said Sayuri with a smirk after a long pause.

“YES!”

“Shushhh! Don’t wake up little Genji,” Sayuri admonished her husband with an annoyed whisper, a hint of a smirk playing on her lips.

“You’re the best wife ever,” whispered back Takeji, planting a kiss on Sayuri’s forehead.

“I know.”


	2. Chapter 2

Waking up I felt good. Well rested. I felt ready to conquer the world!

_‘Man, eight hours of sleep sure does feel good. Haven’t had one of those in a while.’_

Then I noticed something weird. A popup box of some kind. Just floating there. Right in front of my face. Waving my hand through the box accomplished nothing. It was still there.

_‘Uhhh what’s going on?’_

**|[ You have slept in a bed for 3 hours. All HP and CP restored. ]|**

_‘What does it mean by three hours? Also, what’s HP and CP? Does HP mean health points? Then what does CP mean? Errr, other than what CP means on 4chan anyway.’_

Turning my head left and right while nodding up and down like an idiot made me realize that the popup box was fixed to my point of view.

_‘Umm how do I dismiss… Oh, that worked. So, do I only have to will it away or is it a specific thought of some kind that I have to think about? Kinda like Spider-man’s hand gestures but a thought-based version. Hmmmm.’_

Pondering this latest development in my new life, I glanced at my surroundings. Pitch black darkness. A warm and cosy feeling.

“OH CRAP, NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN!” I yelled as the bad memories of my second birth came flooding back.

* * *

“Sayuri-chan the baby’s awake,” Takeji sleepily mumbled to his wife amidst the “WAAA WAAAAAAAA!” of his baby boy.

“He’s _your_ son,” was the barely intelligible reply.

“Mmmm ok. Ok. I’ll do it,” yawning while picking up his son, a sleepy Takeji then carried the crying baby out of the room so his wife could get some much-needed sleep.

Only after taking a few steps into the hallway did Takeji realize that it was quiet. Very quiet. “Eh? What was that about Genji-kun? Why did you stop crying? Wait, did you…did you poop your diaper? Already!? Ohhh man,” Takeji grumbled while he fumbled around in the dark towards the bathroom.

Reaching the bathroom, Takeji reached for where the light switch should be and pressed forward. The lights turned on.

_‘Got it in one try. Who’s the man?’_

Keeping his eyes half closed and towards the ground in order to avoid the blinding glare of the miniature sun above him, Takeji brought little Genji towards the small table next to the washbasin. Undoing the cloth diaper, Takeji mentally prepared himself for the inevitable odor assault.

_‘Hmmm, that’s strange. He hasn’t pooped his diaper. Might as well change it anyway since I'm already here. Does this mean that he’s hungry? Wait a minute, Genji-kun is a newborn baby. Shouldn’t he be deep asleep right now? My daughters weren’t like this. What a strange baby. Maybe he’s hungry? Should I wake up Sayuri-chan? No, no I’m not suicidal. I can handle this. I think there should be some baby formula in the kitchen.’_

* * *

_‘OH GOD! THE GIANT MAN IS STARING AT MY DICK IN SILENCE. Ok, ok calm down. He looks like my new father, I sure hope it’s my new father… aaand he appears to be changing my diaper. Ok, its fine. It’s totally fine. This isn’t awkward. Not at all. Why is he changing my diaper anyway? I didn’t shit my diaper. Wait, did I shit my diaper? Argh I can’t actually tell.’_

Movement. Too fast for my baby vision to track. Before I knew it, my new diaper was secured tightly against my crotch and lower back and I was being picked up again. Back to darkness.

_‘How does he even navigate in this pitch-black nothingness. Wait, is it only this dark to me because of my baby vision? Ughhh stupid baby body. Can’t wait to grow up. Or at least see properly. And be able to talk. Talking is fun. I like talking. Friends say I’m full of shit but hey they still hang out with me so I can’t be all that bad right? Oh shit that’s bright!’_

With the lights turned on, the giant set me down on a hard and flat surface of some kind while he moved away from my sight. Looking around, I noticed that everything was one big brown blur with patches of white here and there.

_‘Where are we anyway? Why is everything brown and white? Who chose the color scheme in this hospital? This is the weirdest looking hospital I’ve ever seen. Shouldn’t everything be white or off-white or something.’_

I was suddenly picked up from behind and a large rubbery something shoved into my mouth.

_‘Whats this thing in my mouth? Why is it warm? What do I do with it?’_

Nothing happened for a few moments. Then I realized that the thing in my mouth was most likely a baby bottle seeing as I was a baby, so I opted for a cursory taste. Some sort of warm velvety liquid, probably milk. Alright, down the hatch.

**|[ You are consuming infant formula. You gain 1 HP. HP currently full. ]|**

_‘Oh, there’s that weird popup box thing again. Shoo. Go away. Begone. I banish you. Err how did I get rid of this thing previously? With my will, I disappear thee! Argh nothing’s working. How do I dismiss… Oh! That worked. So, is the magic word ‘dismiss’? Do I just think the word ‘dismiss’ and the weird annoying box goes away? Cool.’_

Not wanting to indulge in the velvety goodness anymore, I opened my mouth to say “ok, I’ve had enough” but all that came out was incoherent nonsense. The giant seemed to understand though and the rubbery intrusion was taken away. Only for another rubbery intrusion to take its place.

_‘Uh what? I thought he understood? What the heck is this? I’m full!’_

Reaching out with my nigh useless forelimbs I grabbed for the bottle to push it away from me, only to grab a fistful of air. A few moments spent grabbing at nothingness alerted me to the fact that there wasn’t a bottle there, but yet the rubbery intrusion remained.

_‘Ahh right, this must be a pacifier.’_

Reaching gingerly towards my mouth, I discovered that I was indeed correct on this assumption.

_‘Being a baby sure does feel weird. Is this why babies don’t remember being babies? To avoid the weirdness of it all? Or maybe their brains haven’t developed to the point where its capable of memory retention? It’s probably one or the other. Wait, do I have like a super huge baby head because I’m clearly cognizant and have full memories of my previous life? Oh God do I look like Megamind? Do I have blue skin?’_

Lifting my palm in front of my eyes then flipping my palm around allowed me to discover that my skin was not in fact blue in color. It looked like a light brown blur. Like watching a YouTube video at 144p while squinting. Thanks baby vision! Reaching for my head, it seemed normal-sized enough.

_‘Ok, normal’ish sized head. No blue skin. Phewww. Wonder what that weird popup thing is? Note to self: investigate weird popup thing when giant man and possibly new father puts me back to bed. Why is new dad even doing this himself? Oh gosh that feels weird to say. New dad. Hmmm. Shouldn’t the hospital staff be involved in feeding newborns? Is DIY hospitals a Japan thing?’_

Sucking on my pacifier, I contemplated the mysteries of my new life. After the light was once again turned off, I felt myself being carried back to what could only be my parent’s appointed hospital room.

_‘Wait a minute! Why is this hospital hallway so dark? No way in hell is this OSHA-compliant. The hospital would get sued into bankruptcy. And I’m pretty sure the standards of hospitals in Japan are much higher than back home. Which means, this isn’t a hospital. So where exactly am I?’_

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Errr what? Dismiss! Wait, what’d it say about wisdom? Damn, shouldn’t have dismissed it so quickly. Also, where the heck do these popups even come from? Am I wearing some kind of augmented reality contact lenses? Who would even let a baby have contact lenses. No, this popup seems to be coming… from… err, I don’t actually know. Wait, didn’t I once read a manhwa that featured something like this?’_

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Oh for the love of… Ok fine, smartass. What was that manhwa called again? The Player? The Playboy? Wait, no, wrong direction. The Game Player? Ahh, that’s right, it was called The Gamer! What was the plot about again? I don’t actually remember. Some high school kid got some sort of ability that allowed him to live his life as if it were a video game right? With stats and quests and stuff if I remember correctly._

_Is this what’s happening to me? No other explanation seems to fit, at least for now. Well, until proven otherwise I guess I’ll just go with this explanation. I mean, compared to reincarnation this Gamer thing even seems plausible.’_

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Aha! I’m on the right track! Or perhaps it wants me to think that I’m on the right track. Is this just one giant conspiracy? What’s the end goal here? A prank of some kind? No, that doesn’t make any sense.’_

Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t even realize that I was already tucked back into bed, a bed that was seemingly being rocked back and forth. It felt like I was on a boat, getting sleepier by the second. What is this dark magic? I needed to stay awake to contemplate my current predicament and all that entailed.

_‘Why do I feel so tired? What is happening to me? Oh no! Baby body! Nooooooo. Stay awake! Stay awake! Sta-'_

Falling asleep like the baby I was, I missed Takeji’s grateful sigh and mumble of “I think he’s finally asleep.”

* * *

A long time later I awoke feeling good. Well rested.

_‘Alrighty then, where was I? Right, I seemingly have the abilities of some manhwa I read a long time ago.’_

**|[ You have slept in a bed for 3 hours. All HP and CP restored. ]|**

_‘And there’s the popup for good measure. Wait, three hours? That can’t be right. It feels like I’ve slept for eight! No no, this can’t be right. Well then again, I am a baby. So, I guess that sounds about right? I don’t know, I’ve never had a baby before, shit I didn’t even have a girlfriend before I died. Man, I miss her. Oh well. Got a new life now, literally, better make the best of this one.’_

Remembering that The Gamer had a status page, I mentally thought of the phrase ‘Status’ and lo and behold, a larger popup appeared before my eyes.

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 1**

**Title: Heir to the Amano Family Business**

**HP: 1**

**CP: 1**

**STR: 1**

**AGI: 1**

**VIT: 1**

**INT: 1**

**WIS: 4**

**Points: 0**

_‘Interesting. So, I actually am in Japan. Because that’s a Japanese name. Shouldn’t these manhwa powers result in me being reincarnated in Korea instead? Anyways its fine, except for the fact that I only have 1 HP! I could die from a stray feather! Arrrghhh I feel so vulnerable right now! Oh right, I’m a baby. Babies are fragile little things, that makes sense. I guess._

_Why is wisdom at four? Ahh yes, those wisdom increases back then. Right. So, I guess I started off with one in every stat. Makes sense I suppose. What does this title even mean?’_

**|[ Title: Heir to the Amano Family Business. You have been awarded this title due to being the only son of the Amano family. ]|**

_‘Huh. Guess it’s a Japanese thing, being the only son and all that. Wouldn’t my six older sisters have something to say about this? Or do they get no say in this matter due to, erm, cultural… reasons? Hmmmm. Oh well, sucks to be them! Mwahaha. Ok, what does CP stand for?’_

**|[ CP: Chakra Points. ]|**

_‘Whats chakra? That does sound familiar though. Hmmm. Ok, the rest of the stats are self-explanatory which means that this status page was only minimally helpful. Dismiss! Wait, if this isn’t a hospital then does that mean that I was home birthed? Errr, urm…’_

Looking around at my surroundings, all I saw was darkness. I felt comfortable, all wrapped up and tucked in like a burrito.

_‘Hmmm, this particular feeling brings backs memories. Memories of… my second birth. Ughhh. Ok ok, I’m a grown man, I can deal with this. It’s no big deal. Not like I’ve never seen a woman’s intimate bits before. I can deal with the feelings of darkness combined with the tight, constricting… what do people call it again? Claustrophobia? I ain’t afraid of no tight spaces!’_

As my breathing intensified and heart rate accelerated, my pacifier fell out of my mouth as I realized that I was having the beginnings of a panic attack.

_‘Didn’t that Gamer guy have some kind of mental ability thing where mental stuff didn’t affect him? How do I activate it? HowDoIActivateIt!!'_

"NOOOOOGETMEOUTOFHERE!!"

**|[ You are undergoing the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. A debuff has been added. ]|**

* * *

“Sayuri-chan, the baby’s awake again,” sleepily mumbled Takeji to his wife.

“You again please,” was Sayuri’s equally mumbled reply.

“Mmmm, ok fine. Who’s the best husband ever?”

“You are.”

Smiling to himself, Takeji sleepily picked up little Genji.


	3. Chapter 3

**~~ 3 Months Later ~~**

“Yes! I did it! I finally did it! I have done the impossible! Oh, what a sense of accomplishment! Hahaha take that stupid floor! I am your conqueror!”, I announced excitedly while sitting up for the first time in this new life on my own strength, under the watchful gaze of three of my new grandparents. Obviously, all they heard was their grandson jabbering away excitedly in baby talk to no one in particular.

_‘Ah multi-generational households. I had heard of the existence of such family structures from my Hispanic and Black friends but I completely forgot that this was most common among Asian families. It feels weird, but in a good way. Weirdly good? Weird but the good sort of weird? Hmmm.’_

In the three months since my rebirth, I had discovered several important things. One, my new family was poor. I mean all 12, yes 12 of us lived in a rather small but habitable single-story structure made primarily out of wood way out in the middle of nowhere, without a single structure larger than two-stories in sight. That single two-story structure is apparently the barn or something. I mean, I saw some cows in there when one of my two new grandmas carried me inside one day, so I’m assuming it’s a barn. Hey I was always a city-dweller, what the heck would I know about farming. The closest I got to farming was watching some documentaries about it on Netflix, on my phone, while lying on my nice comfy bed in my tiny apartment.

And yes, my family were apparently farmers judging by their outfits, equipment and the stiff callouses on new dad’s hands. And oh no, they weren’t the John Deere-equipped farmers either, oh ho ho that would be asking for too much. Oh no, I was born into probably the one and only Amish-style farming family in Japan judging by the equipment they were using. Can you believe it, farming equipment made of wood! What on earth! Do these people shun technology for religious reasons or something? Would they be denied entry into Japanese farmer heaven because they used a metal shovel?

But things weren’t all bad for being poor Amish-style farmers in the Japanese countryside I suppose. I mean, food was always readily available, if rather monotonous. We ate rice, lots and lots of rice: boiled, steamed, cooked, cooked then dried, thick rice porridge, rice cakes and on and on the list of rice-based foodstuff goes. The rice was usually mixed with all sorts of ingredients such as soybean, bean curd, soy sauce, yams, sweet potatoes, radishes, cucumbers, bamboo shoots, onions and spring onions which were usually boiled, steamed, pickled or even eaten raw.

The prepared dishes were usually flavored with salt, ginger, garlic, mint, fish broth of some kind or vinegar. So yes, food was abundant in this large household. I suppose large households do require lots of food. By the end of my second month here however, I noticed that there was a distinct lack of meat in our diet. Probably because we were poor. I mean, I get it. We’re poor, we can’t afford to eat meat. The cows in the barn are our sole source of milk and we can’t eat them. Someday though, someday, walking hamburger patty. You. Me. Barbecue. I’m almost tempted to rub my hands together in glee while laughing like some evil villain but it would probably freak out my three new grandparents who were keeping an eye on my younger new siblings and I while my new parents and my older new siblings toil in the fields with their wood-based farming equipment.

“You don’t look older than three. Possibly four. Are you my youngest older sister?” I asked the girl sitting down on my right, who was intently arranging wooden blocks of some kind. Ah yes, even our toys were made of wood. What did plastic or metal ever do to this family?

_‘Why isn’t she replying? How rude. Oh wait, she probably can’t understand my baby talk.’_

Sighing, I turned to my left and focused my attention on the girl sitting there instead. She appeared to be playing with a doll of some kind. At least it wasn't made of wood. It looks like it was made of cloth and stuffed with hay or something. Right. We are poor farmers. “Are you younger than her or older?”, I asked futilely while pointing at the girl sitting on my right. My sisters.

_‘Right, right. I have to think of them as my sisters from now on. Feels weird though. Never had a sister before, and now I have six! These two seem closest to me in age, the others seem older. I wonder how old my new parents are. Late thirties? Early forties? I mean, they have seven children. And are farmers. Poor farmers at that. Do poor farmers tend to have lots of children? _

_Well, in those Amish documentaries I watched they did have lots of children. Was it due to a lack of birth control such as condoms? Oh wait, this family doesn’t even allow plastic toys. Are condoms made of plastic? Or are they made of rubber? Well, some people did refer to condoms as ‘rubber’. Is it made from stretchy plastic maybe? Huh. Man, I miss looking things up on Wikipedia. Can’t wait to get a phone again.’_

Searching through my memories, I failed to remember a single instance of even one of my sisters pulling out a phone. I especially didn’t remember anyone pulling out their phones at the dining table either. Six girls, some of whom look like they were in their teenage years. And not a single phone in sight at the dining table?

_‘Hmmmm, moocho suspicioso. Is that even an actual Spanish word? Sure does sounds like one. Oh right, we’re poor farmers, we probably can’t afford smartphones. Those Apple phones sure are getting ridiculously expensive. Only a matter of time before it’ll cost the same price as a small car. Strange, I don’t remember seeing any landline phones around here either. Maybe it’s on one of those large wooden contraptions that they use as furniture. Man, I can’t wait to grow up and be able to reach those.’_

Ruminating about my current environment, I remembered the second important thing that I had discovered during these past three months: I had no way to improve my Gamer stats. My Status page was unchanged in these past three months bar a single point gained in Intelligence. From my brains becoming more structured or something as this baby body grew up, probably. Which resulted in my CP doubling up to a grand total of two. There is probably a correlation there somewhere, seeing how my CP didn’t increase at all when my Wisdom did.

_‘Didn’t The Gamer have quests, like lots and lots of quests? That guy had quests coming out the wazoo! Didn’t he get a quest for washing the dishes? Well then, where are my quests? How the heck do I level up if there aren’t any quests? How do I gain more stats without leveling up? Are my Gamer abilities broken or something? Is there a super power customer service number I could call? How do I exchange it for an ability of similar value or less? Or do they give out store credit?’_

Intently pondering the mysteries of the universe while I stared in silence at the wooden blocks one of my sisters was playing with, I suddenly remembered a rather important skill of The Gamer.

_‘Didn’t he have an ability called Observe, that allowed him to see people’s names and levels above their heads?’_

Turning my head towards my wooden block-playing sister, I thought of the word ‘Observe’ and stared at her face, occasionally glancing above her head expecting to see a name and level appear. An empty space greeted me. So, I tried again. And again.

_‘Hmmm it doesn’t seem to be working. Is Observe the right word? Let's try a few more: Name! Target Name! Target Information! Show Me Her Stats! Show Me the Money! Damn, nothing seems to be working.’_

Wondering what other magical phrases I could think of that would provide me with the results I desired, a strange thought occurred.

_‘Do these Gamer abilities not come with the Observe ability/skill?’_

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Oh God damn it! Is this the beta version or something? Why is The Gamer’s most widely used and thus most useful skill not available to me!? This is bullshit! What, are they locked behind micro-transactions or something? Is this the freemium version? Do I gotta open loot boxes and shit for it? Is The Gamer owned by EA Games? Did the full version enter into an exclusivity agreement with Epic Games? Oh, come on! Cut me some freaking slack here. Poor farming family, hello?! All I’m asking for is the full range of The Gamer’s abilities! Is that too much to ask for? Urgh.’_

My pleading thoughts fell on deaf ears. Upon further attempts of various different phrases that all meant ‘observe’ which proved to be an utter waste of time, I could only come to the most logical conclusion: I didn’t have the full abilities of The Gamer.

. . .

. . .

_‘Hmmm. Nothing? No sarcastic wisdom point increase for that? Oh well. My ability probably doesn’t want me to game the system or whatever.’_

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

Yelling in pain after I abruptly punched the wooden floor while cursing in baby talk drew my grandfather’s attention. Stupid floor. It's so hard.

* * *

“Genji-kun, are you alright? Why did you do that for? Let me see your hand. Does it hurt? Does it hurt when I do this? How about this? No? Aww you’re so cute, that angry look on your face makes you look even cuter! What are you angry about? Are you trying to imitate me? Ha ha ha you’re my grandson alright! Yes, I look angry all the time. It’s an important skill for businessmen like us! It results in better deals! Ha ha ha. But on the inside, I am a very happy man. And you should be too! What’s there not to be happy about? You are surrounded by your loving family! Remember, not everyone is. Family is all that matters little Genji-kun. Remember that”, Amano Morimasa gently instructed while cradling his sole grandson in his arms.

As the only son among his siblings, son of an only son and father to an only son, Morimasa doted on his sole grandson. His blatant favoritism was unconcealed. He told his son and his son’s wife that he loved all his grandchildren equally, of course, but anyone with half a brain could see that he loved his grandson more than his six granddaughters.

He always lamented that the Amano family was cursed to only bear one son per generation and had carefully selected a wife for his only son, an only daughter from a family with four sons. Unbeknownst to him, it was the Amano sperm that either carried the X or Y chromosome which determined the gender of the baby, the female ovum always having the X chromosome. XY would result in a male baby while XX would result in a female baby.

As such, the fact that the Amano family usually only had one son per generation due to the Amano family genes was something the elderly Morimasa was wholly ignorant of, choosing instead to blame the gender of his children and grandchildren on the various Gods, enemy shinobi, or sometimes even the position of the moon and the stars during the day of birth.

“Morimasa-san, would you like some miso soup? There is still some leftover from lunchtime”, inquired Kanemoto Masago.

Looking at his daughter-in-law’s mother and her sole surviving family member, Morimasa smiled gently while replying “Oh yes, miso soup is good for the soul. Let us all have some miso soup”, as he glanced towards his wife, who appeared to be asleep on that newly-bought and preposterously expensive fancy rattan chair that was the latest craze among the nobles in the Capital. “Eh? Kaori-chan appears to be asleep. Let me wake her up. She loves miso soup”.

“You’re carrying little Genji-kun, allow me”, Masago replied with a gentle smile. Shaking Kaori’s arm, she whispered “Hamasaki-san, wake up please, your husband wants us all to have miso soup together”.

Groggily opening her eyes, Hamasaki Kaori sleepily replied “wha? Is it dinner time already?”, to amused laughter from both Morimasa and Masago.

“It's too early for dinner, Kaori-chan. The others won’t be back from the fields for a few more hours. In the meantime, I thought that we should all have some miso soup since miso soup is good for the soul”, Morimasa said to his wife of fifty years.

“Oh, you and your miso soup. Alright, the six of us should have some miso soup while we wait for the others to return for dinner. Let’s see, tonight we will be having onigiri with some side dishes, the ones that Masago-san and I prepared earlier this morning. Come on Kiyoko-chan and Rumi-chan, stop playing with those toys, let’s go to the kitchen for some miso soup.”

“YAY! MISO SOUP!”

“Miso soup again? Didn't we just have it for lunch? Ojii-san, do you even like any other kinds of soup?”

“But miso soup is good for the soul! Anyways Rumi-chan, little Genji-kun here loves miso soup!”

“Ojii-san, Genji-kun has never even had miso soup! Kaa-san said he’s too young.”

“I know that he will love miso soup when he tries it. After all, it's good for the soul!"


	4. Chapter 4

**~~ 2 Months Later ~~**

“I CAN WALK! LOOK AT ME! IM WALKING! WHO'S THE BABY? IM THE BABY! WOOO!” I shouted out in baby talk as I happily stumble-walked around like a drunk on the streets at 3am on a Tuesday, smiling like I had just won the lottery. The sibling closest to my age whose name continues to escape me due to the stupid language barrier, screamed excitedly behind me as she shadowed me around the room.

_‘If I had that stupid Observe ability, I would know her name by now but nooo I gotta learn her name the hard way like everyone else.’_

She was by far the favorite of my six sisters mainly due to her excitable nature and willingness to do whatever it was that I was doing. Like eating. Or sleeping. Or as of today, walking, or at least my latest attempts at walking. Perhaps she was simply glad to have a younger sibling. Perhaps it was because she was most likely two years old and therefore excited about everything. Not knowing her name, I had nicknamed her ‘Favorite’. Yes, a most creative nickname, most creative indeed.

My second youngest sister, whom I had nicknamed ‘Explorer’ due to her nose constantly being glued to a map of some kind, was also in the room with us. Also, calling her Mapper sounded quite silly, so Explorer it was. This map of hers was in the shape of a scroll that reminded me of a rolled-up newspaper from back in the day, but more compact and thicker in width. I had no idea what was so interesting about this map, but she spent hours every day just looking at this map.

“Wonder if that map leads to any pirate treasures or mysterious artifacts? Heck I’ll even settle for dinosaur bones. It better be something cool. How can she spend hours every day looking at the same map? I don’t get it”, I wondered out loud in baby talk as I paced the room in a squiggly circle, my arms stretched out at various shifting angles trying to balance myself, Favorite pacing right behind me while giggling excitedly the entire time.

I had found out that ‘kaa-san’, which is what Explorer and Favorite kept referring to new mom as, was really patient. Even though I know that she comes home directly from the farming fields and is likely super tired from working with wooden farming equipment, yet she still spends an hour or two every night after dinner with the eager Explorer and reluctant Favorite, guiding them on how to speak simple words and numbers.

It was during one of these sessions with Kaa-san, that I learnt how to say one to ten in Japanese, among other simple words. I couldn’t actually speak a single Japanese word out loud yet due to poor motor control over my tongue or the other regions of my mouth responsible for speaking, but that didn’t stop me from trying to overcome this language barrier.

“Rumi-chan! #### ##### ##### ##### ##### ##### ##### ##### ####”, said my grandfather to Explorer, while gesturing in the direction of Favorite and I.

_‘Oh, is that Explorer’s name? Rumi? Rumi. Huh. Simple enough. How did I not get her name previously?’_

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Er what? I learn how to say one to ten in Japanese and I don’t get anything, but finding out Explorer’s name gets me one point in Intelligence? Are you kidding me? What kind of broken system is this?’_

Stomping my right foot once in frustration, I heard an excitable giggle-scream behind me. Turning to look at her, I noticed that she too had stomped her right foot on the wooden floor.

_‘Is Favorite copying my every move? Is this a game to her? Huh, so cute. Well, I suppose she is nicknamed Favorite for a reason. Should I call her Stomper now? No, that sounds like the name of a character from The Land Before Time.’_

“##### #### ##### Kiyoko-chan #### ###### ##### #### Genji-kun ####### #####”, it seems that my grandfather was still talking to Rumi while smiling that grandfatherly smile of his.

_‘Wait, is Favorite’s name Kiyoko? Why am I suddenly starting to learn everyone’s names all at once today? Strange.’_

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Huh, so Favorite’s name is Kiyoko. Kiyoko and Rumi. My sisters. When did I start referring to them as my ‘sisters’ and not my ‘new sisters’? Interesting. So, Kiyoko is two years old while Rumi is three years old based on what Kaa-san was saying the other night.’_

Rumi did not seem too pleased at what grandfather was saying. Perhaps it was because he was currently distracting her from her precious map.

“If I discover what that map is about, will I also gain a point in Intelligence? Hmmmm”, I mused while looking at Rumi, my thumb and index fingers stroking the non-existent beard under my chin. Glancing behind me at Kiyoko, I noticed that she had a mischievous smile on her face along with a cheeky glint in her eyes.

_‘Err what’s this about? Why does she look like she’s about to do something really naughty that could get us in trouble?’_

Kiyoko then leaned her head towards me and started whispering in a rather conspiratorial manner, “##### ###### #### ###### Ojii-san ##### ####### #### ####### Genji-kun?”

Blinking a few times failed to decipher this brewing conspiracy. Kiyoko nodding her head at grandfather did not help lift the language barrier either.

_‘What is she up to? I have no idea what she is whispering! Is she… is she imitating my beard stroking movements from earlier? Why is she looking at grandfather? Wait, does Ojii-san mean grandfather?’_

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Oh. Well, that was vaguely helpful. Why is Kiyoko now doing the cat stealth walk thing where she stops every time someone glances at her? She seems to be making progress towards Ojii-san. Aaand she just pulled his beard. Now she’s running towards me. Aaand I’m a human shield now. Ok, here comes unhappy Ojii-san.’_

“###### ####### ######## ######## ########## ########### Kiyoko-chan ###### #### ##### ##### #### ####### #### ###### ##### ####### ###### ####### ##### ###### #### ##### ##### ####### ###### ####### Genji-kun #### ##### ##### #### ####### #### ###### ##### ####### ###### ####### ##### #### ##### ##### #### ####### #### ###### ##### ####### ###### ####### ##### ####### #### ###### ##### ####### ###### ####### ##### #### ##### ##### #### ####### #### ###### ##### ####### ######”, said Ojii-san to Kiyoko.

_‘What a long sentence. I wonder what he said. She doesn’t seem too happy anymore. Aaand now she has tears falling down her adorable cheeks. And now she’s hugging me. Is she silent crying? She’s normally really loud. I expected loud crying. What a strange turn of events.’_

Hugging Kiyoko back seemed to calm her down a little. I tried the back-rub-in-a-circle thing that used to work on my ex. What do you know, that seemed to work even better as Kiyoko’s tears have stopped falling.

_‘While I wait for backup (ie both my grandmothers to return from wherever they went), I wonder what my stats look like right now. Status!’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 1**

**Title: Heir to the Amano Family Business (1)**

**HP: 1**

**CP: 5**

**STR: 1**

**AGI: 1**

**VIT: 1**

**INT: 5**

**WIS: 6**

**Points: 0**

“Oh nice, I have 5 CP now. I guess CP is the substitute for mana. I wonder why they call mana CP anyway. What do I even do with this CP? Can 5 CP even accomplish anything? Man, looking at these stats, I am one smart baby. Could easily die from a spoon falling off the table unto my head but at least I’ll know how I died am I right? Hehe”, I said to myself in baby talk while rubbing Kiyoko’s back, which got a giggle from her. “Are you giggling because I giggled? Hehe”, got another giggle from her. Guess I know how to cheer her up from now on. Or at least until I learn how to speak Japanese properly.

_‘What’s this (1) beside my title anyway?’_

**|[ You have (1) other title. Do you wish to equip it? ]|**

_‘Yeah why not. Let’s see what this new title is, maybe it’s something cool like Indestructible Baby, who knows.’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 1**

**Title: Best Brother Ever (1)**

**HP: 2**

**CP: 5**

**STR: 1 (+1)**

**AGI: 1**

**VIT: 1**

**INT: 5**

**WIS: 6**

**Points: 0**

_‘Er what? What does that even mean?’_

**|[ Title: Best Brother Ever. You have been awarded this title due to being the only brother of Amano Kiyoko. +1 Strength when in close proximity to Amano Kiyoko. ]|**

Noticing my HP, “Oh my God! My HP doubled! Granted, its still a measly two. But as they say, two is better than one! Hahaha” I yelled out excitedly in baby talk while still hugging a now laughing Kiyoko. Glancing up at Ojii-san I saw him shaking his head in amusement.

_‘Guess I don’t need grandmotherly backup anymore. Situation diffused! Good job me!’_

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

. . .

. . .

“Do I have The Gamer: Family Edition or something? Urgh. Not that I’m complaining about the free stat points. But still! The allocation of these random free stats is so unpredictable! Is this why I don’t have the Observe skill? Is the Observe skill in the non-family-friendly version? Actually, I don’t seem to have any skills at the moment. Why don’t I have any skills?” I ranted out loud.

All Ojii-san could see was a five-month-old speaking rather passionately in baby talk to his older sister while they were both embraced in a hug.

**|[ Due to continuous usage of your muscles, your strength increases by 1. ]|**

“So, remaining in a standing position builds my muscles? Nice. I wonder how many more free Strength stats I can gain while walking or standing around as a baby”, I wondered out loud right before I heard one of my grandmothers enter the room.

_‘Guess it’s dinner time. I wonder what we’re having for dinner today, let me guess: rice and vegetables. Again. I wonder if there’s miso soup tonight. This homemade miso soup tastes so much better than the ones I’ve tried in my previous life. I wonder what the secret ingredient is.’_

As I was being carried by Ojii-san and Kiyoko ran out of the room towards the dining area, I looked around the room we were leaving. It seemed large and spacious, with a bunch of children’s toys (yes, all made of wood) stacked in one corner and numerous fluffy pillows spread out across the wooden floor. There were slightly large chairs and tables spread out around the sides of the room at semi-regular intervals.

_‘Hmmm, I wonder why today is the first time that I’ve been brought to this room. This seems like a fun room. It’s quite big and spacious as well. Probably almost as big as Kaa-san and dad’s room. I wonder what the equivalent word of Kaa-san is for dad. Wait. When did I start referring to him as dad? Have I been brainwashed somehow? This Walmart-brand Gamer ability doesn’t protect against mental effects as I found out the hard way on my very first night here. I had to work through my PTSD the hard way. Sigh. Sometimes the simplest solutions really are the best.’_

I was brought out of my musings as a bowl of miso soup was placed in front of me by Ojii-san.

“Yay! Miso soup! Kaa-san only lets me have it once a week. I wonder what day of the week it is right now”, I muttered to myself as I was spoon-fed the salty goodness by Ojii-san.

**|[ You are consuming miso soup. You gain 1 HP. HP currently full. ]|**

* * *

“Look how much my little Genji-kun loves his miso soup. I’m telling you, its good for the soul!” exclaimed Morimasa excitedly as he spoon-fed his favorite grandchild.

Ignoring his father’s excited ramblings, Takeji picked up some Umeboshi with his chopsticks and ate them with some rice before turning to his wife and smiling sadly “I have to go to the Capital by next week at the latest Sayuri-chan”.

“Is it that time of the year again? Every time you leave the Amano estate, I worry for you. You travelling with such large amounts of expensive materials and products never fails to make me nervous” sighed Sayuri.

“It is part and parcel of the family business, and the Konoha shinobi we hire for these trips are more than adequate as escorts against bandits”, Hamasaki Kaori said while reaching out with her chopsticks for some Shibazuki and placing it on Amano Naoko’s half-finished bowl of rice. “Slow down and actually taste the food young lady, don’t just scarf it down like some uncultured Land of Earth barbarian”, Kaori admonished her eldest grandchild.

"It's not the bandits that I'm worried about", Sayuri quietly mentioned in her husband's direction.

Mumbling out an incoherent reply to her paternal grandmother between mouthfuls of food, Naoko quickly emptied her bowl of rice and gulped down her miso soup before she excitedly said “Tou-san! You promised that when I turned 12 that you would allow me to accompany you to the Capital!”

Looking at his eldest child, Takeji smiled brightly and replied “Yes, yes I did.”

“Both of you will be the death of me”, Sayuri grumbled while shaking her head, “I can’t believe I agreed to this. I was pregnant with Genji-kun at the time, I likely would have agreed to anything if given the right incentives”. Reaching out for some Asazuke, Sayuri placed one on her husband’s bowl before obtaining another slice for herself.

“Don’t worry Sayuri-chan, I was thinking of offering Konoha a B-rank mission this time since Naoko-chan will be accompanying me to the capital. It’s only a bi-annual trip so I don’t mind spending a little extra as long as one of my children accompanies me to the Capital. Only the best protection for my children after all”, Takeji reassured his worried wife while eating the salty Asazuke with some rice.

“Doesn’t a B-rank mission cost 200,000 ryō or double what our usual C-rank mission would cost? Is cutting into our profit margins wise? All of this so Naoko-chan can visit the Capital for the first time?” queried Morimasa without even looking up from spoon-feeding his grandson. “How about we organize a separate family trip to visit the Capital and hire a B-rank mission for that instead? That way the entire family can safely visit the Capital for the price of one B-rank mission instead of only two members of this family?” Morimasa said as he finally looked away from his grandson towards his son.

“Tou-san, we both know Genji-kun is still too young to be travelling that sort of distance. We would have to wait until he is at least two years old before we can organize this family trip. Waiting two years would be unfair to Naoko-chan, not to mention it would mean breaking my promise to her. Remind me again what you always used to tell us when we were growing up?” Takeji said as he looked his father in his eyes.

“An Amano always fulfills their promise to a loved one”, sighed out Morimasa as he looked away from his son’s gaze, focusing again on his grandson. “I suppose I did trust you to handle the family business. Ultimately it’s your decision Takeji-san.” Lifting another spoonful of miso soup towards his grandson’s lips, Morimasa added, “But I am liking the idea of a family visit to the Capital the more I think about it. I have not seen the Capital in more than a decade. It would be good to visit while I still can. What do you think?”

“I think that’s a great idea tou-san! When Genji-kun turns two we should visit the Capital as a family! Wouldn’t that be fun, Sayuri-chan?” Takeji asked as he looked at his wife.

Looking at all her children seated around the table happily eating and chatting among themselves, her mother currently doting over the twins, all of whom were ignorant of the conversation that was currently taking place save for Naoko and Genji. One was listening attentively as the conversation involved her and the other was contributing baby talk as well as swiftly transferring as much miso soup as possible from his grandfather’s spoon to the table portion of his prohibitively expensive custom-made Hashirama wood baby chair that was bought by his grandfather. “While I don’t enjoy travelling, I do enjoy seeing my family happy. So yes, when Genji-kun turns two let's visit the Capital as a family. And make sure you hire an A-rank mission for the family trip. I’m not taking any chances when it comes to the safety of this entire family”, Sayuri indicated to her husband.

“So… am I accompanying tou-san to the Capital next week or not?” asked a confused Naoko.

Morimasa’s eyebrows hitched upwards at the mention of the A-rank mission as those could cost up to a million ryō, but he wisely kept his lips sealed. He felt that he had already made his point and that bringing it up again was unbecoming for a man of the Amano family. '_I suppose spending money on family should never be considered a waste.’_

“Yes, Naoko-chan. You will accompany me next week on my trip to the Capital” Takeji replied happily, looking forward to eating all that meat at that Yakiniku restaurant near the Central District with the All-You-Can-Eat option. He would have to figure out a way to induce secrecy on his daughter’s part though, as his father would never approve of them eating meat. _‘Ahh tou-san and his superstitious beliefs. All because of that fortune teller, who I maintain was a complete fraud, told him not to eat meat in the family home for the next decade in order to preserve the family’s good luck… sigh. Oh, I haven’t had the Rakkyo yet. I wonder whether it was pickled in sweet vinegar this time. I hope it was... Nope, soy sauce.’ _

"Rumi-chan and Kiyoko-chan, after dinner we will continue with your Hiragana lessons", Sayuri mentioned to her two youngest daughters, receiving a happy "oh kay!" from Rumi-chan and a groan from Kiyoko-chan. _'Is Kiyoko-chan too young to be learning Hiragana? Rumi-chan did start when she was three. Maybe I should discuss this with Takeji-san later tonight.' _

"Takeji-san, don't forget to dispatch the messenger hawk to Konoha regarding the B-rank escort mission for you and Naoko-chan. Your trip is next week and those Konoha shinobi need time to prepare", Sayuri reminded her sometimes forgetful husband.

"Of course", Takeji replied as he placed a piece of Rakkyo on Sayuri's bowl.

"Was the Rakkyo pickled in sweet vinegar?" asked Sayuri.

"Of course", Takeji replied with a hidden smirk.


	5. Chapter 5

**~~ 1 Week Later ~~**

Staring was considered to be rude, or so I remember being told in my previous life. But this was my home and all these people were strangers. So, stare I did. I stared at this guy. I stared at that lady. I stared at the various items being carried around. I stared wide-eyed at it all.

_‘Who are all these people? Where did they even come from? What are they doing here? What’s going on? What is he carrying? Why is she so loud? What are those? What’s Kaa-san saying to that man? Who is that? Oh look, horses! What is that man even wearing?’_

An assortment of questions flowed through my excited little mind as I continued staring and trying to figure out this latest development in my new life. It was chaotic. It was loud. There were so many people just milling around. It felt like I was at a state fair, only lacking the deep-fried candy bars.

_‘I can’t really see much from this angle. I wish Ojii-san was taller, then I would be able to see what all these people were doing. Chest-height point of view kind of sucks, all I see are people’s backs and what do those boxes even contain? And would this annoying unknown woman please stop pinching my cheeks!! What the hell? That was like the second time too! How would you like it if I pinched your cheeks lady? That’s right, walk away. Fear me. Fear the annoyed baby.’_

We were currently in a part of the farm that I had never been to before. It seemed to be a rather large courtyard of some kind that was surrounded by a single-story building that appeared to have been built in a horseshoe shape, with a dirt path that led out of the opening into the grasslands beyond and a forest at the end of it.

_‘What’s this place anyway? Are we still on the farm? It doesn’t look like a farm. And why do we have a dirt road? Where’s the actual road road? And where are all the trucks and stuff? Don’t farms always have trucks? Oh wait, Amish-style farmers. Right, that explains all the horses and buggies. I’ve never seen an Amish horse buggy in real life before. This one seems rather large for a buggy. Almost like a horse caravan of some sort, like those used on the Oregon Trail but fancier.’_

Watching the seemingly hundreds of people busily moving around, I was distracted by the sound of high-pitched laughter. Turning my head in the direction of the laughter, I was greeted by the sight of all my siblings and both my grandmothers making their way towards us. One of my older siblings stood out from the rest due to her being the only one wearing clothes that wasn't coated in dirt. She was wearing a mid-thigh length qipao that was black with a red cherry blossom pattern sweeping across it and what appeared to be black bicycle shorts underneath, the waist-high slits on both sides of the dress allowing me to spot this particular detail. The splendid look was ruined by her carrying her wooden farming instrument in her left hand. In fact, all of my sisters excluding Kiyoko and Rumi were each carrying their own wooden farming instruments.

_‘I wonder what they’re all so excited about. Qipao Sister seems to be the most excited, she’s been smiling non-stop. Oh, here comes Kaa-san. I wonder what Kaa-san is saying to Qipao Sister. Forward Ojii-san, forward! I can’t hear anything from here!’_

Reaching out with my arms and making baby noises had no effect on Ojii-san, the sound of the crowd drowning out my attempts at communication. Kaa-san gestured to someone, causing a man to appear out of the crowds. He then made his way towards Kaa-san, passing her a black object of some kind. Taking the object from the man, Kaa-san then reached out for the wooden farming instrument in Qipao Sister's hand before promptly fusing both objects together.

_‘Oh, she added some sort of pouch and string to the wooden farming instrument. Qipao Sister seems to have slung the wooden farming instrument over her shoulder so that it is now resting on her back. Ah, I get it. It’s so that Qipao Sister doesn’t need to carry it with her hands! Kaa-san is so smart. I wonder where they’re going? Perhaps they are going to harvest something valuable from an affiliated secret hideaway farm somewhere far away. Wait, are we all going? Is that why there are so many horse-powered vehicle things? Yay! Road trip!’_

Wondering what was so valuable that it needed to be farmed off-site, I noticed dad approaching our little group. Walking briskly towards us, dad then started hugging Kaa-san, then my sisters one by one (oddly skipping Qipao Sister), then my grandmothers and finally heading towards OJii-san and I.

“#### ### ###### #### ##### #### ####### ###### #### Genji-kun #### ##### ###### #### ##### ####### ##### ###### Kaa-san ##### #### ###### ###### #### ### #### ### Ojii-san #### ####### ##### ######”, said dad while looking at me, giving Ojii-san a one-handed hug before planting a quick peck on my forehead.

_‘No idea what he just said, but he’s smiling so it must be something good! Are we starting the road trip now? Road trip! Road trip!’_

Smiling while baby talking to dad seemed to make his smile wider. Qipao Sister was next on the hugging circuit. Kaa-san seemed to hug her the longest. Kiyoko appeared to be as excited as she always was. Rumi had a neutral expression on her face. Oh look, she has her map in hand, what a surprise. Of my three other sisters, two seemed to be wearing matching outfits. All three appeared to have wistful smiles, as if they were sad from being excluded from something yet happy for some reason.

_‘What is up with all this hugging? What’s going on? Oh look, they’re loading lots of rolled-up rugs onto the caravans now. All the rugs appear to be white in color. Who buys white rugs? They’ll stain so fast, it’s not even funny.’_

My deliberations on the best methods of removing rug stains were interrupted by the impending arrival of four people wearing sleeveless jackets with multiple pouches. Their aforementioned arrival was only noticed by me due to the loud murmurings of the crowd and all the pointing towards them in the distance. Everyone seemed impressed or starstruck or something. Well, almost everyone, as Rumi looked decidedly unimpressed. They were probably intruding on her map time.

_‘Were these people seriously running Naruto-style? Does that even make you go any faster? Oh look, they even have the headbands. What were those things called again? Forehead-bands? Don’t all headbands involve the forehead? Ah crap, the last time I watched Naruto was more than a decade ago, I don’t remember what the headbands are called. Are these guys cosplayers?’_

Qipao Sister then came up to Ojii-san for what I’m assuming was a hug. As she leaned in for the hug, that was when I finally got to see the wooden farming instrument on her back from up close. It was not a wooden farming instrument. I mean yes, it was definitely made of wood. But it was wood fashioned into the shape of a sword, which was currently in a half sheath with most of the blade portion exposed. It even had a proper grip with the black crisscross patterns below the black colored guard.

“That’s a sword! A sword made out of wood. Why do you have a sword made out of wood?” I asked Qipao Sister, who then started giggling at my baby talk and giving me a quick peck on my left cheek. “##### #### ###### ### ##### Genji-kun #### #####”, she said to me before turning around and walking towards dad who was currently speaking to the four cosplayers.

_‘Qipao Sister looks like a mini Kaa-san from up close! She’s going to be so pretty when she gets older based on what Kaa-san looks like. I wonder if all my sisters are mini Kaa-san clones. Will I need to protect them from a bunch of thirsty guys in a few years’ time?_

_Might not need to, they have wooden swords, which presumably will be upgraded to metal ones in the future because I’m fairly certain that wooden swords are training swords. Will Rumi and Kiyoko be given training swords later on? Will I get one too? Oh man, being born in Japan is awesome! Wait, why do my sisters even have training swords? Are my sisters' part of some sword club at school?’_

My eyes widened at the realization, “Oh! School! Is that where they all disappear to during the day? Is that why I only see them at dinner time? Shit! School! Oh my God! I totally forgot about school! Oh no! I just paid off my college student loans! I was done with education! I don’t want to have to start all over again! Noooooooooo!”

**|[ You are undergoing the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. A debuff has been added. ]|**

* * *

“Why are you wriggling around so much Genji-kun?” Morimasa asked his grandson who was noisily chattering away in baby talk, seemingly annoyed at something. “Are you hungry? Sleepy? Is the crowd too noisy? There there Genji-kun, let’s go somewhere quieter, shall we?”

After letting his amused wife know where they were going and using little Genji-kun’s tiny hands to wave goodbye to his son and eldest grandchild, Morimasa started walking away from the lively main entrance towards the more restricted and therefore quieter parts of the Amano family estate. Cradling his beloved grandson past the main guard house, the main house, the servants’ quarters, one of the smaller gardens, a pond, the dojo, the rock garden, taking a path through the bamboo forest, past a smaller guard house, and walking across the large grazing field, Morimasa then entered into the small secluded single-story four-bedroom house that overlooked a medium-sized vegetable patch, several fruit orchards, and the nearby barn.

“Ah, nothing like a short 25-minute walk to keep me healthy and fit. Do you remember this place little Genji-kun? It’s where you were born! I had this place built for when a family member is pregnant because this location is more calming and peaceful compared to the main house. Also, the fortune teller told me that pregnant women who are stressed give birth to girls. Did you know that your father was born here as well? In a different room though. He was born in _that_ room!” Morimasa said as he pointed out a room down the hallway that was next to the bathroom.

“Ahhh, there’s so many good memories in this place. The Amano family estate really is the best place to live in the Land of Fire: away from the hustle and bustle of the Capital yet not too far, not too near the coast yet close enough to enjoy the refreshing sea breeze, and most importantly it is far away from any borders and potential war zones. The previous Fire Daimyo even stayed here once during the Second Shinobi World War. Ahhh. Someday little Genji-kun, all of this will be yours. Well, your father will inherit it first once I’m gone, but eventually it’ll all be yours”, Morimasa mused to his lovable grandson who was currently pouting for some reason.

After an hour or so, the elderly Morimasa returned to the main house while cradling his sleeping grandson. Heading towards his more traditionally built private residence that he shared with his wife, he looked towards the morning sky and noticed some dark clouds gathering on the horizon. “Hmm, seems like it will start raining in the afternoon. I hope it doesn’t affect Takeji-san’s journey too much”. Leaving his sandals at the main entryway and relishing the feel of the tatami mat on the soles of his feet, Morimasa made his way towards the spare room where a cradle was set up. After placing Genji-kun gently into the cradle, he headed towards his bedroom closet to change his outfit. All that walking obviously warranted a change in outfit.

Returning to the room containing his sleeping grandson, he walked towards a portion of the wall that was adorned with patterns of some kind. Placing his palm on the patterns and inserting some of his chakra, he then proceeded to sit down on a fancy rattan chair. It was one of several that his son had purchased in the Capital for him and his wife, placing them all throughout the main house. Soon, a man appeared in the doorway of the room and took a knee, respectfully greeting the elderly Amano family patriarch with his gaze firmly on the ground. Without glancing towards the man, Morimasa briskly said “Inform my wife that I will be taking a nap with my grandson here. Wake me up in time for lunch. Inform Sayuri-san that it will rain this afternoon. Dismissed.”

Morimasa ignored whatever reply the man had, knowing full well that his instructions would be carried out, choosing instead to focus on getting comfortable within the padded confines of his fancy rattan chair. Reaching down the side of the chair with his right arm, his palm gripped a round protrusion. Inserting some chakra into the protrusion caused two thicker pieces of rattan, currently looking like two skis attached to the chair legs, to bend upwards slightly and looking as if the skis were smiling. Meanwhile, three of the chair’s back supports started shrinking which resulted in the chair’s back lowering to a 45-degree angle. Morimasa then adjusted his neck until it was comfortable and began lightly rocking his chair back and forth as he closed his eyes and had a much-deserved nap.


	6. Chapter 6

**~~ 1 Month Later ~~**

“Well, I can safely say that I was not expecting this. Then again, I suppose looking back on things, it really should have been obvious to me”, I reflected as I held the wooden block in my hand up towards the heavens, before throwing it across the room with all the baby strength I could muster. The wooden block traced a graceful arc in the sky and landed on the tatami mat a respectable two feet away.

“We aren’t farmers”, I said while nodding to myself. Hearing an aggressive shout, I looked to my left and witnessed one of my sisters in a blue bathrobe getting the crap beaten out of her by two of my other sisters, one wearing a dark red bathrobe and the other a red bathrobe.

_‘Blood Sister sure is vicious. I mean, Red Sister isn’t exactly gentle but Blood Sister is just next level. She’s slashing and slashing that wooden blade around like some kind of miniature black-haired female Himura Kenshin. I don’t actually know what’s happening. I wonder what Blue Sister did to deserve this two-on-one beating. Ouch, that looks like it’ll bruise in the morning.’_

Noticing Red Sister take a rather loud hit to her left forearm, I winced sympathetically. This was followed by Blood Sister getting kicked in the torso which made her stumble backwards. After getting her sword parried and directed towards the tatami mat, Red Sister then received a nasty elbow to the face. Perhaps this was some new sport of mixed martial arts involving swords that I had never heard of before. And Blue Sister is clearly cheating because she is wielding two swords, one shorter than the other, while my other two sisters only had one sword each.

“Our parents are obviously on-site groundskeepers for an exclusive private school of some sort”, I affirmed to Kiyoko who was sitting on my left. She had a determined look on her face as she attempted to recreate the Leaning Tower of Pisa with wooden blocks. As she looked away to grab another wooden block, I grabbed the top-most block of her tower and repeated my attempts at breaking my current throwing record: three feet.

_‘Ooh, that was close. Wonder if Kiyoko will get mad at me once she figures out why her tower isn’t getting any taller. Wow, what a dodge! Blue Sister is pulling off some Matrix shit right now!’_

Blood Sister continued her offensive together with Red Sister resulting in Blue Sister backing up while parrying and dodging the flurry of sword strikes thrown her way. A few moments later, Blue Sister got herded into one of the Dojo’s corners and Blood Sister managed to ‘stab’ Blue Sister in the chest. Kaa-san, who was sitting on one side then said something to the three of them which resulted in my battle-weary sisters heading in the direction of some glass cups arrayed around a glass jug filled with water.

“I should have noticed it earlier but I didn’t put two and two together until today, when Ojii-san brought us here to the school’s dojo”, I said to Rumi who was sitting on my right. Rumi was currently playing with a doll with spiky yellow hair, which I mistakenly thought was hay when I had first laid eyes on it. Last week I had discovered what was so interesting about her precious map. It wasn’t actually a rolled-up map. Rather, it was a scroll that contained a variety of diagrams of a man in different yoga poses. I failed to see what was so interesting about the diagrams but I guess I’m just not into yoga.

“The large building. The large fields for baseball or rugby or whatever sport it is that Japanese schoolkids enjoy playing. A bunch of random people coming and going. That school fair last month. This dojo. The large pond across from this dojo that I assume is for swimming in. The gardening equipment that I mistook for farming equipment. On-site groundskeepers of an exclusive private school make the most amount of sense.

I don’t think groundskeepers are paid all that well, which explains us being poor, possibly exacerbated due to shunning technology as well as having seven children while being employed in the education sector. I mean, what else could we be?” I hypothesized to Kiyoko, who was currently gathering all the blocks that I had thrown as she had run out of building materials for her tower. Hearing the dojo’s door slide open, I heard yells of “TOU-SAN!” coming from my sisters before I managed to turn around and see who the newcomer was.

_‘Oh, dad’s back! Where’s Qipao Sister? I wonder where these guys disappeared to for the past month. Did they go on vacation without us? That’s so unfair. Wonder where they went to. Europe maybe? Heard Japanese people liked going to France for some weird reason. Wait, how did they even afford a trip to Europe? We can’t even afford to eat meat! Maybe the school sponsored their trip as a reward for something. Yeah that makes sense. Oh! Is tou-san the male equivalent of kaa-san?’_

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Nice! It has been awhile since I’ve gotten any new stats. Based on previous experience, I now needed to learn the names of these three bathrobe sisters and Qipao Sister for another four free stats. The final free point that I’m quite certain of receiving would likely be awarded when I discovered what the grandmother equivalent of Ojii-san was. This would be so much easier if I had quests, or at least some indication of how to level up. I clearly have levels seeing how my Status page indicates that I’m Level 1. There has to be some way to level up.’_

Watching my bathrobe-clad sisters hug Tou-san one by one as Kiyoko excitedly hopped up and down while waiting her turn as Rumi looked on with a neutral expression, I felt myself getting picked up. Turning around, I saw that the culprit was Kaa-san. As I was being carried towards Tou-san, I saw him pick up Kiyoko in one arm and Rumi in the other. The eight of us then headed towards the large building that we were currently residing in.

Awaiting us in the dining area were my three grandparents and Qipao Sister. After we had all sat down and I was placed in my wooden baby chair as usual, Tou-san began handing out boxes. Ojii-san got one. Both of my grandmothers got one each. Kaa-san got one. Everyone seemed to be talking excitedly among each other.

_‘I wonder what kind of touristy gifts they received. Those little Eiffel Tower replicas maybe?’_

“Misaki-chan! ##### #### #### ####### ### ######”, Tou-san said as Blue Sister reached out to receive her gift box.

_‘Misaki? Is that Blue Sister’s name?’_

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Nice.’_

“Tsuki-chan! ### ##### ###### #### ####”, Tou-san said as Red Sister reached out to receive her gift box.

_‘Sooki? That must be Red Sister’s name!’_

“Sakamae-chan! ##### #### ##### #### ###### ###”, Tou-san said as Blood Sister grinned and hastily grabbed for her gift box.

_‘Why didn’t I get any stats for knowing Red Sister’s name? Are my Gamer powers just trolling me now? Sigh. Guess I’ll at least get one for knowing Blood Sister’s name. It's Sakamei isn’t it?’_

“Rumi-chan! #### ##### #####”, Tou-san said as Rumi happily accepted an elongated rectangular box.

_‘Huh? Why didn’t I get any stats for Blood Sister either? What’s going on?’_

“Kiyoko-chan! ##### ### #### ### ##### #####”, Tou-san said as Kiyoko screamed excitedly while receiving her gift box.

_‘Did I get their names wrong? Don’t tell me that I need to get the spelling right as well?’_

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

“Genji-kun! ##### ##### ##### ######”, Tou-san said as he lifted then jiggled an orange rectangular box in my face before placing it on the dining table instead of on the table portion of my baby chair.

“Oh, for the love of miso soup! I have to get the spelling of the name right as well? Are you freaking kidding me right now? What is this nonsense! Arrgh! Stupid discount bin Gamer ability!” I ranted at the empty space in front of me.

“#### ### ###### Genji-kun #### ###### #### Takeji-san”, Ojii-san said.

Tou-san shook his head then proceeded to pick up and place the orange rectangular box on the table portion of my baby chair.

“So how do I spell Sooki then smartass? Is it spelt Suki? Sookee? Soohki? No? Urghh forget it. Let’s try guessing the spelling of Blood Sister’s name. Is it spelt Sakamae?”

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

“Who the hell decided that adding a freaking Wheel of Fortune minigame to the Gamer’s abilities was a good idea? This is so stupid! Arghhhhh” I ranted at the orange gift box in front of me.

“Takeji-san ##### ##### #### #### Genji-kun ##### ##### #### ###### #####”, Ojii-san said while he waved a hand in my general direction.

Tou-san shook his head while sighing then proceeded to pick up and began unwrapping my orange gift box.

“There better not be some silent letter bullshit going on with Soohkee’s name”, I threatened at the empty space in front of me.

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

Tou-san then placed the unwrapped red gift box on the table portion of my baby chair.

“Oh my God! This totally doesn’t even make any sense! At all! I’m expected to guess the English spelling of their Japanese names? A spelling that includes a silent letter? What! The! Shit!” I raged at the red gift box in front of me.

“Takeji-san ##### ###### Genji-kun ###### ###### ###### eat ###### ####### #### #### ##### #### ##### ##### ##### ###### #####”, Ojii-san said with an exasperated tone.

“Ok! Ok! I can do this. Think! Think Genji! You’re a smart baby, you got this! Where would the silent letter be? At the front? In the middle? At the end? Suoki. Souhki. No, no. Only English words have silent letters in the middle or at the end, and none of them are names. So, it must be in front of the name. What silent letter goes before the letter ‘s’? Hmmm. The only letter I can think of would be the letter ‘t’. None of the other letters of the alphabet would fit”, I theorized.

“Tou-san ##### ###### ##### #### ##### ##### #### Genji-kun ###### ##### ####### #### ###### ##### ###### ###### ###### ###### ####### #### #### ##### #### ##### ##### ##### ###### ##### ###### ###### ###### ###### ####### #### #### ##### #### ##### ##### ##### ###### #####!” said Tou-san as his tone of voice started rising in annoyance.

“Tsookee? Tsooki? No, those spellings don’t even look Japanese. Tsuki?” I guessed.

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

“#### ###### ###### Takeji-san ### ##### #### ##### #### Genji-kun”, said Kaa-san as she patted Tou-san on the arm before reaching out for my red gift box and opening it.

“Yes! Finally! Man, I freaking hate this stupid name-guessing minigame! Why does Tou-san look so angry?” I wondered out loud.

“###### #### #### Tou-san #### ### ##### #### eat ##### ##### Genji-kun”, Kaa-san said as she picked up something that was pink and leaf-shaped with her thumb and index finger, then breaking off a small piece before placing that small piece in front of my mouth.

_‘What is this? It looks like a pink colored biscuit of some kind. Well, if Kaa-san is offering it to me then it must be something good. Alright, here goes.’_

Opening my mouth as wide as I could manage, Kaa-san then popped the small piece of mystery into my toothless mouth.

**|[ You are consuming higashi. You gain 1 HP. HP currently full. ]|**

“Oooh! This is candy! Japanese candy! More! More!” I exclaimed as all the saliva in my mouth suddenly disappeared, making me feel rather thirsty all of a sudden. So, I reached out with both of my hands towards my wooden sippy cup which was currently resting on the dining table, far out of my reach.

“#### ##### eat ### #### Genji-kun?” laughed Kaa-san as she broke off another piece of higashi and placed it in front of my mouth.

_‘Ughh my mouth is so dry. What is higashi even made out of? Sweetened flour?’_

Tilting my head away from the piece of higashi that Kaa-san was holding out in front of me, I renewed my efforts to acquire my sippy cup that was seemingly mocking me from less than two feet away, the baby chair preventing me from moving all that much. And stretch! Nope, not working.

“#### ### #### Genji-kun?” Kaa-san asked as she glanced in the direction of what I was reaching for. “#### #### ##### drink ##### ##### Genji-kun?” Kaa-san reached out for my sippy cup on the table as she correctly deduced what it was that I wanted, handing me my salvation from this oral desert.

**|[ You are consuming water. You gain 1 HP. HP currently full. ]|**

* * *

“You guys only won because we’ve moved our practice into the Dojo for winter and Genji-kun was distracting me by throwing those blocks around. You know how sensitive I am to sudden flying objects when I’m fighting. My threat awareness is dialed up to eleven so I keep reacting to non-existent threats every time he throws one of those stupid blocks! So, stop gloating so much!”, Amano Misaki said in an irritated tone as she weighed her gift box with one hand.

“A win is a win Misaki-chan! As Kaa-san says, there’s no second place on the battlefield. You either win or you die trying”, Amano Sakamae said as she crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at her older sister, who she secretly idolized.

“Learning how to fight with distractions in the surrounding environment is important Misaki-chan. Although you excel at fighting without distractions, as Kaa-san says we can’t always choose our battlefields. You can’t really blame Sakamae for celebrating our win in today’s spar. After all these years we’ve only ever beaten you like ten times”, Amano Tsuki said as she tried to convey her younger twin’s unspoken reasoning while at the same time trying to placate her rather competitive older sister.

“Today makes nine times! That one time with Kaa-san and Tou-san doesn’t count. Kaa-san is so much better than Tou-san!” argued Misaki.

“If that fight didn’t count then that time you won with Ojii-san doesn’t count either as Ojii-san is even better than Kaa-san”, argued back Sakamae.

“That’s enough you two. Tsuki-chan is right Misaki-chan. On a battlefield there will be distractions aplenty. Learning how to discern the threats from the non-threats is a crucial skill. And those fights counted. You can’t always choose who you will be fighting alongside with on the battlefield, they might be strong or they might not be”, interjected Kanemoto Sayuri.

“Yes, Kaa-san. I will get better at discerning threats from non-threats”, replied Misaki.

“See? I was right”, said Sakamae to her older sister.

“Amano Sakamae”, admonished Sayuri.

“Sorry Kaa-san. Sorry Misaki-chan”, Sakamae hurriedly apologized. _‘Uh oh, she used my full name, that means she’s serious.’_

“It’s fine Sakamae-chan. Once I’ve overcome this weakness of mine, you twins won’t be able to win any of our weekly spars anymore!” Misaki said with a challenging smirk.

“We’ll see”, “Bring it!” Tsuki and Sakamae replied simultaneously.

_‘Misaki-chan is too competitive. Justifying her weaknesses doesn’t minimize them in any way. Tsuki-chan needs to be more aggressive. Sakamae-chan needs to be way less aggressive.’_ Sayuri thought to herself as she contemplated the current state of her three daughters.

_‘Naoko-chan seems more interested in the family business than her sword skills, she’s so much like Takeji-san. I wonder who Genji-kun will imitate when he grows up, probably his father based on how Morimasa-sama is treating him.’_

Sayuri was brought out of her musings as she noticed her husband approaching his father, who had walked over to the living room to sit down on one of the special rattan chairs her husband had bought for him. “Sorry for raising my voice at you earlier Tou-san. It’s just that sometimes I feel like you’re spoiling Genji-kun a little too much. As the heir to the family business, we can’t afford for him to grow up as a rich spoilt brat who is always given his way”, said Takeji in an apologetic yet firm tone.

“Apology accepted Takeji-san. Upon reflection, it seems that my love for my grandson has indeed temporarily blinded me to the bigger picture. But all is not lost. After all, Genji-kun hasn’t even spoken his first proper word yet. Do not worry, I will not spoil the boy. Not any more than I spoilt you anyway”, Morimasa replied his son with a smile.

“That is all I ask of you Tou-san”, a grateful Takeji responded.

An excited ear-piercing scream from the dining room caught everyone’s attention. “YOU GOT ME MORE TOY BLOCKS FOR GENJI-KUN AND I TO PLAY WITH!” screamed an excited Kiyoko.

“Kiyoko-chan, is it really necessary for you to scream _every_ time you’re excited, which seems to be always?” questioned Rumi who was busy examining her newly gifted scroll on the Soft Palm Style: Dance of the Tiger Lily, complete with colored diagrams for the katas.

“YES!”


	7. Chapter 7

**~~ 1 Week Later ~~**

I awoke with a start. Unsure of the reason behind my sudden jump-start into consciousness, I got myself into an upright position and gazed around the room while rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Ojii-san was fast asleep on a chair beside my cradle and Kiyoko was playing with wooden blocks on the floor. So, I decided to shift my focus to the multiple popup boxes floating before my eyes.

**|[ You have slept in a bed for 9 hours. All HP and CP restored. ]|**

**|[ Your mind has become more developed. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

**|[ Your body has grown more resilient. Your vitality increases by 1. ]|**

**|[ Your muscles have grown stronger. Your strength increases by 1. ]|**

**|[ Your bones have further developed. Your agility increases by 1. ]|**

_’Hmmm 9 hours, that’s less than yesterday’s 11 hours. Oh wow! Free stats! Do babies grow when they’re asleep? We do tend to sleep quite a bit, there has to be a reason for this. Hmmm. Anyways, let’s see what my stats look like right now. Status!’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 1**

**Title: Best Brother Ever (1)**

**HP: 8**

**CP: 20**

**STR: 3 (+1)**

**AGI: 2**

**VIT: 2**

**INT: 10**

**WIS: 9**

**Points: 0**

_‘Whoa, my CP soared up from 9 to 20 from when I last checked yesterday! Something other than Intelligence is affecting my amount of CP. Definitely not Strength, so it must either be Agility or Vitality. I’ll only know once I gain more stats in Agility or Vitality. Hmmm, I wonder what I can do with 20 CP. I don’t have any skills at the moment. How do I even get skills?’_

“Genji-kun! #### #### ##### play #### ### ##### me #### ####?” asked Kiyoko as she peered up at me from her seated position on the floor.

_‘Oh, Kiyoko has noticed that I’m awake. I’m assuming that she’s asking me to play with the wooden blocks together with her. Alright let’s do it. Hmm, I think my Japanese is improving. Just need to continue learning a few more words every week.’_

“Ojii-san! Ojii-san! Genji-kun ##### ##### ###### ### #### #### play #### ##### ###### me ### #####!” said Kiyoko as she stood up and started shaking Ojii-san’s left knee.

“##### ### Kiyoko-chan #### ##### ### #### #### Genji-kun ### ##### #### play #### #### you” said Ojii-san with his eyes still closed.

“Genji-kun ### #### #### ##### Ojii-san!” replied Kiyoko.

Ojii-san then opened his eyes and saw me staring at him from inside my rocking cradle. Standing up then walking over, he picked me up and placed me down on the floor beside Kiyoko where I was promptly given an eager hug by an excited older sister.

“It’s only been 9 hours Kiyoko”, I struggled to say while in the tight embrace of my youngest sister as she was hugging me as if we hadn’t seen each other in a decade. As far as I could remember in this new life, she and Rumi were always somewhere near me. We ate together, played together, sometimes got to watch our older sisters train in the dojo together. Just regular Japanese family-bonding activities I suppose.

_‘Hmm, I wonder where Rumi is, where did she go? I must’ve gotten so used to her constant presence that it somehow feels weird without her. I’m starting to see the appeal of having multiple siblings instead of just one like in the before.’_

Kiyoko released me from the bear hug and proceeded to shift all her wooden blocks so that it was between the both of us. Then she started to place blocks one in front of the other, seemingly building a wall of some kind.

“Genji-kun #### ### ##### #### ### #####” said a voice behind me that I recognized as Rumi’s. Turning my head in the direction of the voice confirmed that it was indeed Rumi who was standing in the doorway holding a scroll in one hand and her doll in the other.

_‘Ah, the Three Musketeers are back together once again. All for one and one for all!’_ I thought to myself as I lifted a block up into the air, imagining it to be a sword with a large fancy round guard. Wondering how far it would travel now that I had gained a stat in strength, I threw the block towards the center of the room. It landed on the hardwood floor boards about five feet away, narrowly missing one of the large pillows that was strewn about the floor.

_‘Wow! That’s more than two feet further than my previous record. Is this the result of having an extra stat in strength? If so, I can’t wait to get more!’_

Rumi then sat down on the floor between Kiyoko and I, unfurling her scroll away from the wooden blocks and then started playing with her doll. She kept looking at the scroll before moving one of the doll’s appendages, repeating this action over and over. It seems that she was trying to pose the doll into the various yoga positions found in the diagrams of the scroll.

Looking at it from up close, the doll seemed to be a doctor or scientist of some kind as he had an open white lab coat with some Japanese words written down the back of it. Seemed like whoever this doll was based on was a bit of a Guy Fieri fan, as the lab coat had some red colored flame designs down the bottom.

_‘I bet the Japanese words written on the back of the lab coat is some sort of reference to Flavortown. I mean, even the doll’s hair is blonde and spiked up, just like Guy Fieri! Why does this guy even have dolls, is he a local celebrity or something? Hmmm. I should ask Rumi when I’m able to.’_

Wanting to interact a bit more with Rumi, I crawled over so that I was closer to her. Kiyoko noticed what I was doing so she stood up and sat down closer to the two of us. The three of us were now sitting rather closely together, as I could feel the warmth of their bodies. The weather seemed to be getting colder but I hadn’t seen any snow falling just yet. Deciding that the best way to interact with Rumi would be to show more interest in her yoga diagrams, I leaned forward for a closer look.

**|[ This scroll contains knowledge on Soft Palm Style: Dance of the Tiger Lily. Do you wish to learn it? ]|**

_‘What does soft palm even mean? Is it some sort of massaging technique? Tiger Lily sounds Asian, is it some kind of Asian massage? Well, Japan _is_ in Asia so I guess over here it’s just called massage. Wait, why would Tou-san even give a three-year-old a scroll on massaging techniques? Is something super dodgy going on here? And what does it mean by me learning it?_

_Oh wait, I remember this ability! That’s right, the protagonist of The Gamer manhwa had the ability to absorb knowledge directly from books! But if I’m remembering correctly, the process involves converting the book into light which is then directly absorbed into his mind or something like that. There’s no way I’m destroying Rumi’s scroll as she would hate me forever, which is the direct opposite of what I’m currently trying to accomplish. _

_Maybe I should ask Rumi for her previous scroll which she has stored on that bookshelf over there. Once I learn how to speak a proper sentence in Japanese that is. Alright, let’s have a look at what this soft palm thingy even is.’_

Mentally selecting the ‘No’ option which dismissed the popup, I then peered carefully at the diagrams in front of me while idly wondering whether my Tou-san was some sort of pervert and if Kaa-san or Ojii-san knew about it.

The first diagram on the top right of the scroll depicted a man standing with his knees bent, his left foot facing forward while his right foot was behind him and facing slightly towards his right. His torso was turned to the right slightly while both his arms were out in front of him in the same direction as his left foot, with a slight bend in both arms and both palms facing outwards.

_‘Wait a second, this isn’t a massaging technique… this is some sort of kung fu stance! Phew, Tou-san isn’t some kind of pervert. What a relief. Alright, looking at the rest of the diagrams, this appears to be a step-by-step kung fu manual of some kind. Which means that this is like that scroll from Kung Fu Panda except this one actually has stuff written in it. So, Rumi is a kung fu enthusiast, that’s cool. Wonder why she isn’t trying out the stances for real instead of using her doll to do it. Maybe she just likes playing with her doll.’_

“##### ### you #### #### ##### Genji-kun?” Rumi asked me with a questioning tone. Unsure of what exactly it is she asked, I decided to simply smile with my two new lower front teeth. “### ##### #### #### ##### Genji-kun”, Rumi said as she smiled at me while patting my shoulder then went back to posing her doll into the various kung fu positions.

_‘Wonder why it’s called the Soft Palm Style. Hmmm based on these diagrams you’re supposed to hit your opponents with your palms. Why’s there a cone-shaped outline pointed outwards from the palms in some diagrams? Is that supposed to signify movement? That doesn’t make sense, the arm is fully stretched out in the diagram. So, what is the cone outline supposed to signify?’_

Perhaps Kiyoko was curious as to what I was looking at so intently, because she decided to look at the diagrams on the scroll too. After staring at the scroll for a few seconds, Kiyoko asked her older sister “Rumi-chan #### ##### #####?”

“#### ##### ### #### ###### Kiyoko-chan. Kaa-san ##### #### ### #### ##### Genji-kun ##### ##### ### #### ###”, was Rumi’s reply. Probably deciding that her wooden blocks were more interesting, Kiyoko nodded at whatever Rumi had said and turned around so her back was leaning slightly against my left arm in order to resume building her Great Wall of Kiyoko.

Seeing as Rumi had a determined look on her face as she posed the doll into the various kung fu stances, I decided to leave Rumi to it and resume building my arm muscles by throwing blocks across the room. This was done in the hopes that I would eventually gain another free strength stat.

“Hmm. Would it be considered cheating if I entered the Olympics and got all sorts of gold medals for Japan? I mean, no one would be able to prove that I have the Gamer ability, right? I would be unbelievably strong and fast by then, the number of gold medals I could win would only be limited by the scheduling conflicts of the different events. Hehehe”, I said to myself while I daydreamt of Olympic glory. My giggle caused Kiyoko to giggle.

There was the sound of footsteps coming from the doorway followed by one of my grandmothers entering the playroom and saying something to Ojii-san, which caused him to get up and head in the direction of our seated trio. He then picked me up and ushered both Rumi and Kiyoko out of the room towards the dining area.

_‘Is it family breakfast time? Huh, I’m usually asleep at this time. Would this be my first family breakfast in this life? Hmm yes, it would be! How long have I been here, seven months? I wonder what the breakfast spread is going to be like. Will there be coffee? Oh man, I do miss my coffee. I’ll even settle for just the aroma of coffee at this point.’_

Getting placed into my baby chair, I noticed Kaa-chan walking towards me from the kitchen entrance with my baby bottle in hand.

_‘The only thing Kaa-san has ever let me eat so far other than baby milk or miso soup was that piece of higashi last week. I wonder when she’ll let me start eating solid food. Not really looking forward to the vegetarian diet but I suppose needs must. When I grow up, I’ll definitely figure out a way to use my Gamer abilities to make money and pull my family out of poverty.’_

Kaa-san then sat down on the chair beside me and inserted the baby bottle into my mouth.

**|[ You are consuming infant formula. You gain 1 HP. HP currently full. ]|**

_‘Did the Gamer have any money-making abilities? Oh! Didn’t he get money when he killed zombies? Where did he even find zombies anyway? Ah crap, I don’t actually remember the details, it’s been so long since I last read that manhwa. Did he summon the zombies or something? Hmmm. Guess I’ll test the summoning theory later on when I have more CP.’_

After everyone had sat down, my family began eating their breakfast. With nothing else better to do, I decided to observe my sisters while emptying my baby bottle. Qipao Sister was wearing a half-calf length qipao which was dark blue in color. It had light blue trimmings and was adorned with a light blue flower pattern down the left side, with her shoulder-length hair tied into a ponytail.

Misaki, Tsuki and Sakamae were not in their usual bathrobes. Misaki was wearing a light pink kimono with flower patterns on it, which I only knew was a kimono due to the large dark blue cloth wrapped around her stomach area, while her armpit-length hair was done up in a French braid.

Tsuki was wearing a purple kimono with pink flower patterns and a light pink cloth wrapped around her middle, her mid back-length hair done up in a neat bun. Sakamae was wearing a dark purple kimono with white flower patterns and a red cloth dividing her torso, her armpit-length hair also done up in a French braid like Misaki.

_‘What’s with the fancy outfits? Come to think of it, Ojii-san, my grandmothers, Tou-san and Kaa-san are also dressed in fancy outfits. The only ones not wearing fancy outfits are Rumi, Kiyoko and I. Are they going somewhere? And why aren’t we going with them?’_

* * *

“Rumi-chan, after breakfast you will be alone with Kiyoko-chan and Genji-kun in the playroom for a few hours while we entertain the guests. Can I trust you to keep them out of trouble? Or would you prefer if I stationed Motoshige-san in the room with you?” Morimasa asked his almost four-year-old granddaughter, who was currently reaching for some inari sushi with her chopsticks.

“I’ll be fine Ojii-san, no need for Motoshige-san to babysit us. After all, Kiyoko-chan has her blocks to play with and Genji-kun will likely fall asleep soon. He always sleeps after he’s had his milk”, Rumi replied her grandfather as she ate all the rice and sesame seed toppings, saving the sweet inari pouch for last.

Satisfied with his granddaughter’s reply, Morimasa brought his bowl of miso soup to his lips and sipped the soul-enriching elixir. _‘Ahhh, hot miso soup on a cold winter morning while surrounded by my family. One should always enjoy the simple pleasures in life. Oh, look at my little Genji-kun, he looks so cute with that baby bottle in his tiny hands. What a strong little man he is, _none_ of his sisters were capable of holding up the weight of the bottle until they were much older.’_

“Takeji-san, when do you think your business associates will arrive for the meeting?” Sayuri asked her husband while making sure that Genji-kun didn’t drop his bottle.

“They should be here soon. I’m not exactly looking forward to this meeting though”, Takeji sighed as he closed his eyes and rubbed both his temples.

“Ah yes, Sadakuno-san’s proposal to bring in a new partner in order to expand the business group’s investment portfolio into the more, urm, adult-themed investments”, Sayuri said as she lowered her voice while glancing at her children seated around the table.

“I have voiced my disapproval for this proposal every time he brings it up, but this time he insists that he has found a suitable potential partner and thinks that us meeting in person would somehow make all my prior concerns magically disappear”, Takeji said as he let out a lengthy sigh while shaking his head.

“Have you told him that the Amano family has no interest in investing in bars, sake lounges and urm”, Sayuri paused as she mouthed out the word ‘brothels’ to her husband.

“We do know what brothels are Kaa-san. I’m 11 and the twins are 10, we’re not kids”, Misaki said while rolling her eyes before taking a sip from her glass of water.

“And how exactly do you know what a brothel is young lady?” questioned a worried Sayuri.

“Naoko-chan told us all about her trip to the Capital”, Misaki replied her mother.

“Kaa-san, what’s a brothel?” asked Rumi.

“And how exactly did information regarding what a brothel is make its way to Naoko-chan during her brief visit to the Capital?” Sayuri asked as she turned an icy gaze in her husband’s direction.

“Oh… that… well, you see, I brought Naoko-chan with me while I went to discuss the group’s matters with Sadakuno-san. Erm, she is the eldest child after all and she does seem to have taken an interest in the family business. So, I thought it would benefit her to learn how a business meeting was conducted. She just so happened to be present when Sadakuno-san and I were discussing his latest variation on that ‘great investment idea’ of his”, Takeji sheepishly replied while suddenly taking a keen interest in the bowl of miso soup in front of him.

_‘He exposed our 12-year-old daughter to the concept of brothels on her maiden trip to the Capital! What was he thinking!? Was he even thinking at all? Argh sometimes I just want to slap some sense into that stupid face of his’_, Sayuri furiously thought to herself.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older Rumi-chan”, Sayuri gently replied her second youngest daughter before turning to look at her older children, “And the four of you better not share that kind of knowledge with your younger siblings either. They are way too young for such things” she said with a stern tone of voice.

“Yes Kaa-san” simultaneously replied Naoko, Misaki, Tsuki and Sakamae.

Glancing up, Takeji noticed that his father’s personal butler Motoshige-san was in the hallway looking at him while motioning his hand towards the direction of the main entrance. “Ah, it seems that our guests have arrived. Do be on your best behavior girls. Do not bring dishonor to the Amano name. Rumi, please finish your breakfast then take your younger sister and brother to the playroom”, Takeji instructed. “Come on Sayuri-chan, let’s go greet our guests”, Takeji said as he stood up and extended his right arm towards his wife.

“We _will_ discuss this later”, Sayuri said with a frosty tone as she stood up and ignored her husband’s arm, ushering her older daughters towards the main entrance to greet the new arrivals.

Heading outside into the chilly winter morning, they stood in neat rows with Takeji and Sayuri in front, the three elders behind them and the four children at the back.

“Sadakuno-san! You have arrived safely, that’s good. How was the journey? And who might your companions be?” Takeji said to his newly arrived guests after they had exited their luxuriously decorated horse-drawn carriages.

“Takeji-san! It’s good to finally be here! Travelling out of the Capital really isn’t my forte but business is business I suppose. Now, allow me to introduce you to a friend of mine and who I hope will be a new addition to our group as he has much to bring to the table! And these two men are his samurai bodyguards”, Yokoi Sadakuno said as he introduced a short man in a black suit who was walking with the assistance of a walking cane.

“I can introduce myself Sadakuno-san. It is a pleasure to finally meet you Amano-san, Sadakuno-san has told me much about you. I do indeed hope to become a partner in this business group of yours. I’ve been informed that your group is responsible for approximately 20% of all trade done in the Capital. Impressive! Now tell me, how would you like to double that? Oh where are my manners, as I am not one for formalities, please just call me Gato.”


	8. Chapter 8

**~~ 1 Month Later ~~**

“Weeeeeeeee! Hahaha” I laughed as Tou-san, Kaa-san and I rode down the snowy slope in a wood toboggan. At the bottom, a man dressed in a yellow parka grabbed a hold of the toboggan and began dragging it back up the slope. We also started walking back up the slope as Tou-san held my right hand while Kaa-san held my left. I kept my gaze on the ground in order to distinguish any ice from the snow because no one likes slipping on ice, occasionally lifting both feet off the ground while my parents supported my inconsequential weight.

Last week I had made an astonishing discovery: we had underfloor heating. I only realized it after it had started snowing and I felt rather cold after being carried back from the dojo one day. Upon reaching the playroom, I realized that the hardwood floor of the playroom was actually rather warm. This new fact led me to alter my prior assumptions: my family may not actually be poor. After all, people who were poor usually did not have underfloor heating installed or even if they did, they didn’t leave it on for the entire day.

_‘I’m quite certain that my family isn’t poor and is actually rather wealthy if I had to guess. Let’s review the evidence thus far. Exhibit A, two random strangers are currently holding up large wooden umbrellas for Tou-san and Kaa-san to prevent snow from falling on us as we walk up the slope, which is quite ridiculous because we’re tobogganing, a snow-based activity. A third random stranger is currently dragging said toboggan up the slope for us. The only kinds of people I can think of who would actually hire people to carry out these sorts of activities are people who have way too much money._

_Exhibit B, two weeks ago I watched from Ojii-san’s arms as roughly two dozen men created this very slope by carting over large amounts of earth from somewhere using wooden horse-pulled carts. This slope must be about twelve feet high at its peak! Once again, the only kinds of people who would have a slope constructed in what I’m no longer assuming is the school’s soccer field but apparently our backyard, for no reason other than so they can go tobogganing, are those who are really super crazy rich. Does this mean that I’m a crazy rich Asian? Huh. Anyways, Your Honor, I rest my case. Oh, here we go again!’_

“Weeeeeee! Ahaha” I laughed gleefully as my parents and I slid down the hill for the ninth time. _‘Man, this never gets old! Also, tobogganing as a baby somehow makes it seem more exciting. Oh, apparently Tou-san has had enough.’_

Holding Kaa-san’s hand while watching Tou-san walk away after he had kissed Kaa-san on the cheek, with one of the strangers trying his very best to prevent any snow from falling on Tou-san, I noticed that Ojii-san was walking towards me arm-in-arm with one of my grandmothers. They also had two umbrella-wielding strangers escorting them. My grandparents are standing really close to each other, surely one umbrella would suffice for the both of them. But nope, apparently one umbrella per person was the order of the day. Got to protect us from the filthy snowflakes falling from the sky after all.

“##### ### #### ### toboggan with me and Obaa-san, Genji-kun?” Ojii-san said while smiling warmly at me, my grandmother also smiling warmly but her eyes were on Ojii-san instead.

_‘Yay, more tobogganing! Hmm, does Obaa-san mean grandmother?’_

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Ooh! Free intelligence stat! Nice! Oh man, we’re walking up the slope again, I don’t enjoy this part of tobogganing. Wait, I’m a baby aren’t I, time to abuse my position! Mwahaha’_, I thought to myself as I proceeded to lift both my arms up into the air, the universal signal for ‘carry me!’, understood in all languages and cultures around the world. Except for this one, apparently.

“You need ### learn ### walk #### ### ##### Genji-kun,” Ojii-san said while still smiling.

_'Ughh fineee. Guess I’m walking. Stupid slope, it’s so big. Right foot, left foot, right foot…’_

At the top of the hill, once I sat down in front of Obaa-san on the toboggan, Ojii-san reached forward from behind Obaa-san and placed both his hands around my torso, making it feel like one of those safety bars on a rollercoaster that strapped you into your seat. I then noticed that Kaa-san was waving at us from the bottom of the hill, so I waved back. Hearing an excited scream to my left, I turned my head and saw Misaki, Rumi and Kiyoko getting on a toboggan beside Naoko, Tsuki and Sakamae’s toboggan.

_‘Why is Kiyoko doing her excited scream when she hasn’t even gotten into the toboggan yet? Oh right, its Kiyoko.’_

“Misaki-chan, Naoko-chan, we ###### #### ### ####! ##### makes #### ##### miso soup!” declared Ojii-san to the other two toboggans.

“Ojii-san ### #### ###! Hahaha”, enthusiastically declared back Misaki.

“Ojii-san! Misaki-chan! We #### ### ##### #### #####!” Qipao Sister replied, equally enthusiastically.

_‘Wonder what they’re saying. Something about miso soup? From the context of the situation I’m guessing there’s about to be a race. Losers make the winner miso soup? That sounds like a silly prize. Also, Kiyoko-chan seems to be so excited that she has stopped screaming and is instead smiling like a lunatic. That’s new. Oh, here we go!’_

As Ojii-san started counting down from three, I noticed Obaa-san sticking a small piece of paper on the toboggan, it had some patterns drawn on it and some Japanese words that I couldn’t yet read. After Ojii-san reached the number one on his countdown and all three toboggans started going down the hill, I saw Obaa-san raise up her right index and middle finger so that they were touching each other, while the rest of her fingers remained closed in a fist.

_‘AHHHHH’_, I mentally screamed out in terror as our toboggan sped down the hill faster than it had ever gone before, all noise failing to escape my mouth as my eyes widened and I clenched all four of my teeth. I continued mentally screaming as we flew past a wide-eyed Kaa-san’s position, past Tou-san who was still walking towards the house, across the snowy field and headed in the direction of a bamboo forest.

Obaa-san then repeated the action with her hand and our toboggan miraculously began to slow down, eventually coming to a stop near a small brown snow-covered shack beside the bamboo forest. Some fluids may or may not have staged a prison break out into my diaper. As I was trying to regain my calm after my near-death experience, I heard the sounds of Ojii-san and Obaa-san’s joyous laughter filling the air.

_‘WHAT WAS THAT!? Holy shit, I thought I was going to die again. What happened? Our toboggan picked up speed so rapidly and continued at that speed without slowing down even when we were on flat ground! But that’s impossible! Gravity as well as friction between the toboggan and the snow should have slowed us down! What’s going on? It looks like we’ve traveled almost the entire length of the field.’_

As I wiped the accumulated snow from my face with my gloved hand, I watched as Obaa-san concurrently stood up and picked up the small piece of paper that she had stuck on the toboggan then pocketed it in one smooth motion. Anyone who wasn’t watching really closely would have missed it.

_‘Was that piece of paper responsible? And what was that Obaa-san did with her hands? That hand gesture thing looked like something from Naruto. But how did that make the toboggan go so fast and not slow down, like at all? Hmmm. Argh, I can’t seem to figure this out and I can’t ask Ojii-san or Obaa-san what happened for now either. Sigh.’_

As Ojii-san and Obaa-san got out of the toboggan, Ojii-san deciding to carry me this time, I took another deep breath in order to help calm my rapidly beating heart. In the distance, I saw Kaa-san running towards us. She was closing the distance rather quickly, even though the ground was covered in about a foot of snow.

Tou-san reached us first though as he was much nearer. It seems that our little stunt hadn’t fazed Tou-san at all as he was currently chuckling while talking to Ojii-san and Obaa-san. “I’m happy #### ### #### ### happy, Tou-san, Kaa-san.”

_‘Wait, did Tou-san just call Ojii-san and Obaa-san, Tou-san and Kaa-san? They’re his parents? Oh. I was wondering who was who. So, my other Obaa-san is Kaa-san’s kaa-san?’_

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Good to see some confirmation. Also, more free stats! Nice. While we wait for Kaa-san to arrive, let’s take a quick peek at what my stats look like right now. Status!’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 1**

**Title: Best Brother Ever (1)**

**HP: 8**

**CP: 24**

**STR: 3 (+1)**

**AGI: 2**

**VIT: 2**

**INT: 12**

**WIS: 10**

**Points: 0**

_‘Hmmm. Hmmmmmm. Sigh. My stats seem to be horribly imbalanced at the moment. At this rate I’ll end up being a magic glass cannon, able to deal considerable magic damage but with low defense and durability. Nothing wrong with that I suppose, as long as I have something to tank the incoming damage for me. A summons of some kind? Yeah, that will do. A giant bear maybe? Rock golem? Some sort of plant monster thing? Zombies?_

_Hmmm, I really need to figure out how to summon stuff. Wait a moment, who or what exactly will I even be fighting? Who did The Gamer fight again? Argh, I can’t really remember who he fought, only that he fought all the time. Will I have to face the same types of enemies?_

_Sigh, so many questions, so little answers. Ok Genji, focus on what you can control and not on things you have no control over. Alright, for now I guess I should work on improving my strength and agility, seeing as I don’t have a clue as to how I’m supposed to increase my vitality.’_

“Genji-kun! #### you #####?” Kaa-san said breathlessly as she arrived at our impromptu gathering by the wooden shack.

“Genji-kun ##### Sayuri-chan! Ah ha ha ha. Kaori-chan and I #### ### #### #### #### ### ##### #### ### #####! #### toboggan with Genji-kun #### ### ##### ####! Ha ha ha”, Ojii-san happily replied my concerned-looking Kaa-san.

_‘Is Kaori this Obaa-san’s name? Since he is speaking to Kaa-san, does this mean that Sayuri is Kaa-san’s name?’_

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Oh great, more intelligence. No no, I wasn’t complaining Gamer System, please don’t withhold any free stats. I love free stats. I would love it even more if you told me how to level up though, then I could assign some stats into vitality. Just saying.’_

“### #### #### Sayuri-chan, ##### ### #### ####. ### ##### Morimasa-san and I #### #### happy #### ### toboggan with Genji-kun ####”, said a smiling Kaori-obaasan.

“#### ### #### ### #### Morimasa-sama, Kaori-sama”, Kaa-san respectfully replied.

_‘Eh? Did she just use say ‘sama’? Why exactly does Kaa-san respect Ojii-san and Obaa-san so much? Are they royalty or something? Oh my God! I’ve been born into a family of super rich royalty! This does explain our really large house and large snowy field. Perhaps they are the traditional kind of royalty and wish to do certain things following the old ways, like making everything out of wood. I can deal with that, being rich does ease a lot of worries after all, a few quirks here and there is to be expected.’_

* * *

Later that night, after all the children had been tucked away in bed, tired from a full day of tobogganing, the adults gathered in Takeji’s home office. Takeji was seated behind a generously-sized desk, facing his wife and the three elders of the family who were seated in various positions around the room. Sayuri was seated by the window, the thick curtains fully drawn to keep the warmth in as well as to ensure their privacy, while the three elders were seated by the fireplace.

“I called for this meeting because the messenger hawk from Konoha arrived earlier this afternoon. Take a look for yourselves”, Takeji said as he picked a scroll off his desk and gave it to his father. After perusing it for a while, Morimasa handed the scroll to his wife. Soon, all five people in the room had finished reading through the scroll.

“So, Gato decided to omit a few interesting facts when he told us about himself. This is most troubling”, sighed Morimasa as he adjusted a log in the fire with the fire poker, hoping to glean some wisdom from the burning piece of wood.

“Konoha shinobi are most impressive. They had less than a month but yet they managed to uncover information of this caliber. Truly worth all the ryō we pay them”, Kanemoto Masago said as she reread the scroll.

“Yes, their intelligence gathering teams are highly skilled and very capable. Especially if the team includes those of the Hyuga clan, with those Byakugan eyes of theirs able to see through solid objects, no documents are truly hidden from their sight”, said Hamasaki Kaori while she poured some green tea into her elderly husband’s tea cup.

“There was never any doubt about their capabilities. We do hire them for all sorts of things after all. A thorough background check on a civilian should be well within their expertise. What I’m worried about is what they have uncovered about Sadakuno-san’s friend.

Gato mentioned that he had connections to the largest yakuza syndicate operating in the Capital and that dealing with them was a non-issue as long as we paid the various protection fees required for the bars, sake lounges and brothels. What he failed to mention was that the current head or Oyabun of the Murakumo Syndicate is also the only other investor in his shipping company.

Konoha’s intelligence report indicates that Gato uses his ships to smuggle drugs into the Land of Fire on behalf of the Murakumo Syndicate, where he and the Oyabun share a healthy cut of the proceeds which is paid to Gato’s shipping company by the Murakumo Syndicate as a ‘delivery fee’. It seems that his interests in joining our business group is merely to facilitate him and the Oyabun gaining a personal stake in the Murakumo Syndicate’s downstream distribution network, planning to use the bars, sake lounges and brothels as distribution points for their illicit drugs”, Morimasa said as he related the information contained within the scroll.

“So, Gato and the Oyabun are double dipping? First, they pay themselves to transport the drugs and when that wasn’t enough, now they also want to own some of the distribution points of those drugs? Wouldn’t the Murakumo Syndicate kill them for this if they find out? Can we use this information against them?” asked Kanemoto Sayuri.

“It’s not so straightforward Sayuri-chan. The Oyabun’s word is law to the yakuza. If the Oyabun says he isn’t doing such things, then that is what they will believe. If he claims that the evidence is fake, then that is what they will believe too. It would be unwise to attempt this course of action”, replied Kanemoto Masago.

“Masago-chan is right. It is not so simple. So, the main question remains, how do we turn down Gato’s offer without offending him or the Murakumo Syndicate. Offending them would be foolish as the yakuza members could really hamper our businesses in the Capital. So far, we have kept our operations strictly within the Central District and have never operated in the Inner District or the Outer District, where the yakuza are more prevalent. Gato’s offer should be viewed as the yakuza finally expanding their influence into the Central District, which is rather worrisome”, Morimasa said as he analyzed the situation.

“Gato-san’s offer aside, my proposition of an additional payment if Konoha found out about Sadakuno’s connection with Gato was also fulfilled. It seems that all three, yes three not two Sayuri-chan, of Sadakuno’s mistresses are former geishas or courtesans who operated in the Inner District under the protection of the Murakumo Syndicate. All three were introduced to Sadakuno-san by Gato. I’m quite certain that they are leverage, to be used against Sadakuno-san in the event that he does not fall in line or refuses to do what Gato says”, added Takeji.

“That cheating bastard! Oh, poor Azumi-chan. She only knows about two of his mistresses”, said Sayuri as she felt terrible for her friend.

“Sigh. With Sadakuno-san compromised in such a manner, that’s one of the three families of our business group already in Gato’s clutches. Who knows whether or not he has gotten his claws into the Domoto family? Based on what I’ve seen and Konoha’s intelligence report, Gato is a highly intelligent and very cunning man. He most likely does already have some sort of leverage on the Domoto family, otherwise he wouldn’t approach our Amano family so boldly.

After all, we are the largest partner in the business group. It would make sense that he first obtains the support of the two smaller partners before approaching the larger partner, as he would then be able to negotiate from a stronger position. A position he will no doubt flaunt should we turn down his offer”, Morimasa said as he emptied his tea cup.

“Then what do you propose? That we go into the business of brothels and drug distribution? What would my children think of our decision?” Sayuri said with an incensed tone.

“Sayuri-san, Tou-san has proposed no such thing. He is merely laying out the facts of the matter. Ultimately it will be my decision and my decision alone as I am in charge of the family business. I am merely asking for all your opinions as this concerns all of you as well.

Ok, what about a compromise? What if we tell Gato that we will only invest in the bars and sake lounges but not the brothels, feigning ignorance of the activities of the Murakumo Syndicate. After all, we aren’t supposed to know about his actual connections with the Murakumo Syndicate.

And remember, Gato did offer to ship our products to the other coastal towns and cities at cost if we allowed him to become a partner. And think about it, the distribution of drugs would occur regardless of who owns those bars and sake lounges, right? And it’s not like we ourselves will be distributing those drugs. And most importantly, no one is forcing these people to buy those drugs, they do it of their own free will”, reasoned Takeji to his wife.

“But we _do_ know what is happening Takeji-san! Can we just sit around pretending that drugs aren’t being distributed through our businesses? Drugs that will invariably destroy lives and tear apart families sooner or later. Because we all know the Murakumo Syndicate wouldn’t get involved in recreational drugs as the margins and the amount of risk involved don’t make financial sense, they would want a high margin product with a customer base that’s helplessly addicted to those products, which means that they are almost certainly distributing harder drugs.

What kind of an example are we setting for our children Takeji-san! You are suggesting that we become knowing accomplices to drug dealers! Is that what we have become?” Sayuri replied her husband with tears in her eyes but her voice was firm and steady.

“Sayuri-san, do you understand what you are asking me to do? Do you fully, _truly_ understand the ramifications of offending the yakuza? They _literally_ could bully our businesses into closing down by chasing away customers or committing arson or do a whole other list of worse things like blackmail or kidnapping our employees for ransom. We could lose the entire family business over this Sayuri-san. Do you _understand_?” Takeji replied his wife with an equally firm voice.

“We… we could go to the authorities, surely they would enforce the law! After all, it _is_ the Capital of the Land of Fire. They can’t afford to have lawlessness!” Sayuri reasoned.

“Some of the law enforcement officials are on the Murakumo Syndicate’s payroll as informants, some happily get paid to look the other way whilst others are direct members. In short, they are corrupted to the point of being law enforcement in name only. In reality they act like yakuza themselves, the only difference being that they hustle the various yakuza syndicates for money whenever the opportunity arises rather than regular citizens”, sighed Morimasa.

“It is one of the reasons why we don’t live in the Capital, Sayuri-chan”, Takeji said to his wife with a gentler voice.

“There is another option available”, declared Hamasaki Kaori, as all eyes in the room turned towards her direction.

“We could sell the family business to the other two families. Wash our hands of this thing, start afresh somewhere else. This way we don’t have to deal with the Murakumo Syndicate and neither will we lose out on our investments. It is either this option or we pay Konoha an outrageous amount of money to find and kill every single member of the Murakumo Syndicate, only for the second largest yakuza to eventually replace them in the future, where we ultimately will have a repeat of the events of today”, said Hamasaki Kaori.

“You aren’t seriously suggesting that Takeji-san sell off the business my father built, are you?” Morimasa said with an angry tone.

“Yes, I am”, Kaori replied her husband, meeting his angry gaze with a stern gaze of her own. “What else would you have Takeji-san do? Become drug dealers? Because you and I know that Gato isn’t going to stop. Once he gets our business group involved with the Murakumo Syndicate, sooner or later we will become nothing more than another member of the Murakumo Syndicate. In your heart of hearts, you know this to be the right decision. Shelve your ego and tell me Amano Morimasa, are you going to jeopardize the honor of the Amano name for something as fleeting as _money_?”

After a long pause, Morimasa let out a lengthy sigh, “You’re right Kaori-chan. You’re right. This is why I married you. You balance out my aggressive nature. Ok. Ok! Fine! I suggest we sell our family business to the other two families, Takeji-san”, Morimasa relented.

“Yeah, I thought you would say that. I was leaning towards that decision from the very beginning, I simply wanted to hear all the angles before I made my final decision. Sorry Sayuri-chan, but you know me, when it comes to business, I have to be aggressive. Seeing all the essential angles by playing devil’s advocate was necessary”, Takeji said to his wife in an apologetic manner.

“Sigh, yes, I know you very well Takeji-san, your business persona is truly different from your husband persona. So aggressive and merciless. That being said, you _will_ make this up to me, do you understand?” Sayuri said firmly.

“Of course”, Takeji replied as he gave his annoyed wife a kiss on her forehead.

“You better”, Sayuri warned.

“I love you”, Takeji said as he attempted to pierce his wife’s emotional armor.

“I know you do”, replied Sayuri as Takeji’s attempts ended in abject failure.

_‘Damn, going to need to work harder to obtain her forgiveness. Did I go too far tonight?’_ Takeji wondered to himself as he led his wife out of his home office and into their bedroom.


	9. Chapter 9

**~~ 2 Months Later ~~**

Mornings were my favorite time of the day in this new life. Not because I was a morning person or that I liked to see the sun rise or anything like that. Oh no, mornings were my favorite because every now and then I would wake up to a morning such as this one.

**|[ You have slept in a bed for 11 hours. All HP and CP restored. ]|**

**|[ Your mind has further developed. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

**|[ Your body has become more resilient. Your vitality increases by 1. ]|**

**|[ Your muscles have grown stronger. Your strength increases by 1. ]|**

**|[ Your bones have further developed. Your agility increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Ahh finally, it’s been so long since I last got one of these’_, I thought to myself as I yawned and stretched my limbs, arching my back while looking around the room. Noticing something out of the ordinary, my mind quickly regained full consciousness and began processing the situation before me.

_‘Hmm, that’s strange. I usually wake up in the playroom. Why am I still in Tou-san and Kaa-san’s bedroom? And there’s no one here as well. Where’s Ojii-san, my two Obaa-sans, Rumi or Kiyoko?’_

Deciding that I first needed to exit my rocking cradle, I started climbing the vertical bars, pushing against opposing bars with my feet in order to get the needed traction to pull myself up towards the horizontal bar on top. Grabbing the horizontal bar, I then slowly lifted myself over the edge, and clung on to the vertical bars as I felt my body slowly descend as I slid downwards along the vertical bars. Letting go of the bars for the final drop of a few inches, I landed safely on my feet.

_‘Alright, time to discover what’s going on. Should I investigate the situation in a quiet, stealthy manner or just start running around and speaking baby talk in my loudest voice to get someone’s attention? Hmm. I think the quiet route seems to be the wiser choice. Discretion is the better part of valor after all.’_

Sneaking towards the bedroom sliding door, I placed my ear towards the paper in between the wooden squares that made up this sliding door. Not hearing anything, I decided that the coast was clear and slid open the door. Looking left and right, I saw that there was no one in the hallway on either side. After closing the sliding door as quietly as I could manage, I then proceeded down the hallway towards the direction of the playroom.

_‘Did they forget about me? No, Kiyoko wouldn’t forget about me. Did they go somewhere without me? Maybe. Did something happen that required their full attention? Possibly. Oh well, no use speculating, onwards!’_

Walking on the balls of my feet in order to minimize the sounds of my footsteps, I carefully walked across the wooden floorboards, avoiding the ones that I knew would creak loudly if stepped on. Slowly and steadily I moved towards a junction in the hallway, the left turn would take me towards the playroom while the right led towards the kitchen and dining area.

Peeking my head around the left corner then looking down the right hallway, I saw that once again, both hallways were empty. And there weren’t any sounds either. No laughter from Kiyoko, no voices talking, no sounds of cutlery against plates, nothing. It was as if the house was devoid of any living thing, people or otherwise.

_‘Erm, this is getting really weird. Where did everyone go? And why is it so quiet? It’s actually way too quiet. This isn’t normal. Did something bad happen? Oh shit, what if those anti-monarchy dudes who hate royalty broke in and are holding my family hostage? Oh shit, oh shit. No, no, calm down Genji. Don’t let your imaginations go wild. Deep breath. One more, in then out. Ok. Investigate further before jumping to conclusions.’_

Deciding that the playroom was the best option, I turned left and continued my cautious and steady pace, keeping any noise I made to a minimum. Reaching the sliding door to the playroom, I once again put my ear to the paper portion of the door’s structure. Listening intently, I failed to hear anything. Not even the sounds of the wind blowing in from the open window, no sounds of the curtains moving, nothing. No sounds whatsoever.

_‘Ok, this is starting to freak me out. Do I slide the door open or not? What if Kiyoko or Rumi are in there and they’re injured? Oh shit, oh shit. Ok, I got this. Open the door Genji, you big scaredy-cat.’_

Sliding the door open an inch, I peered inside. Even though the lights were turned off, there was still some sunlight coming in through the window. There didn’t seem to be anyone inside the room. Opening the door further, I slipped inside and closed back the sliding door. Walking over to one of the pillows strewn about the floor, I sat down and began collecting my thoughts.

_‘Let’s take stock of the situation at hand. There’s no one in the master bedroom, no one in the hallways, dining area seems empty, no sounds coming from the kitchen, playroom is unoccupied as well. What else. Hmm. All the lights in the house are turned off, but it’s daytime so there’s sunlight coming in from the windows. Hmm, the windows are opened but there’s no wind because the curtains aren’t moving.’_

Looking around the playroom, everything seemed to be in place. Kiyoko’s wooden blocks were stacked up neatly in one corner, Ojii-san’s rattan chair was in its usual corner, Rumi’s doll was on the table looking at me, the various books and scrolls were stacked up neatly on the bookshelf. Wait, what?

_‘Holy crap! That stupid doll scared the shit out of me. Ok, ok, it’s just a doll. But it is currently in a standing position on that table over there while facing my direction. Go closer? Ahh I’m such a scaredy-cat. This is why I don’t watch horror movies, I’m easily freaked out. Ok, you got this Genji. It’s just a stupid doll, what could it possibly do to you? Oh, I don’t know, come alive and start trying to kill me maybe? Ughhh, concentrate Genji! Let’s just go over to take a closer look.’_

Shuffling reluctantly towards the doll, with both my fists balled up and in front of my chest while preparing myself to scream and run out the room if the doll so much as blinked, I eventually got close enough to see that the doll wasn’t in fact alive. Looking at it from the front, underneath the white lab coat the doll seemed to be wearing the same green sleeveless jacket with multiple pouches that those Naruto cosplayers I saw a few months ago were wearing. It even had the kunai holster on the right thigh and the open-toed shoes. The sunlight from the window behind me glinted off something metallic at the doll’s forehead.

_‘Is this doll wearing a Naruto headband? I mean, its outfit looks like those cosplayers from before and it matches my memories of Naruto. Can’t see what the symbol on the forehead protector is though. Ah, that’s right! It’s called a forehead protector! Let’s see what ninja village you’re from, little buddy.’_

Reaching out with my right index finger, I lifted its blonde fringe out of the way. A swirl pattern with a pointed end on the left corner. It matched my memories of the symbol for Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Hidden Leaf Village or Konoha for short.

_‘I wonder who this guy is? Rumi has a doll of him so he must be a famous character from Naruto, but I don’t know who he is. Is he a character from after the time skip? Ah crap, I only saw the first part of the series but not the second part, Naruto: Shippuden. I just watched the highlights of some of the fights on YouTube and by highlights, I mean Anime Music Videos. As such, I have no idea who this character is!’_

Hearing some noises coming from outside the window, I was drawn out of my thoughts and curiously looked in the direction of the window. Not being tall enough to see out of the window, yet too scared to actually make any noises by moving Ojii-san’s rattan chair towards the window, I simply stood still and listened.

_‘It sounds like someone or something is moving through the snow. I can hear the squish-squish sounds of snow being moved but that doesn’t sound like footsteps. Is it an animal of some kind? What kind of animal wonders around in late winter anyway? A bear that woke up early from its hibernation? Groundhog? Ah crap, I don’t even know what animals are native to Japan. Does Japan have raccoons?’_

After the sounds had stopped, I mustered up the courage to go take a peek. Deciding that making too much noise was a bad idea, I instead tip toed towards the window and decided to test out my body’s balance and upper body strength. Placing some of Kiyoko’s wooden blocks below the window sill in a four by four pattern, I built it up till it was four blocks high, then I climbed up on top of it.

Looking up towards the window sill, I then jumped for and grabbed onto the window sill with both hands, before pulling myself up as quietly as possible. Peeking my head over the window sill, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Just patches of snow mixed with mud here and there, after all it hadn’t snowed in two days.

_‘Maybe I can guess what animal it is by its footprints, if there are any. Ok, lean forward just a little bit Genji. A bit more. Easy does it, don’t fall out the window, that would be bad. Alright, let’s see. No idea what animal it is, but it’s definitely an animal of some kind. Too small to be a bear, which is a good thing. But I have no idea what kind of animal this is. Squirrel maybe? No, too big to be a squirrel. Unless it’s a very big squirrel. Hmm. Dog? We don’t have a dog though. Stray dog maybe?’_

Contemplating the animal's species while my head was out the window, I detected some movement towards the very edge of my vision to my right. Turning my head towards the movement, that was when I saw them, in the distance by the small flower garden beside the dojo. Two to three, possibly four dozen white-furred rabbits. They looked rather large for rabbits, between a foot and a half to two feet in length, six to eight inches tall. There was a large bunch of them in a cluster, with a few individual rabbits and smaller groups of three to four by themselves away from the main cluster.

_‘Urm, where did these rabbits come from? What are they doing? They seem to either be just standing around or looking around for something. Are my family busy dealing with these rabbits? Is that where they all disappeared to? Will we get to eat rabbit meat?’_

One of the rabbits seemed to have noticed me as it was looking directly at me now. It twitched those long ears of his and suddenly all the rabbits present turned to look in my direction. Then more and more rabbits started appearing from all over the compound. There were rabbits to my left and my right, around every building, all these rabbits covered the ground as far as my eyes could see. There were easily hundreds of them, if not a thousand or more.

_‘Uh oh, not good. I don’t know what’s going on but this definitely isn’t a good thing. Why are they all looking at me?’_

* * *

“Calm down Sayuri-chan, we will find him. I promise. There were no signs of anyone breaking into the house and all the guards and servants are accounted for. There’s no evidence of foul play. Perhaps he simply woke up and decided to explore the grounds while we slept”, Takeji said to his worried wife.

“Are you suggesting that our nine-and-a-half-month-old baby decided to go on a stroll around the estate by himself? In winter? For fun? Without a single person noticing? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?” screamed a near-hysterical Sayuri.

Keeping his voice even and trying to sound as calm as possible, Takeji took a deep breath then said to his wife, “Tou-san, Kaa-san, your Kaa-san and the girls are all outside looking for him right now with the guards and the servants. Even Rumi and Kiyoko are trying to help by searching the main house. Please, you have to remain calm Sayuri-chan, panicking doesn’t help anyone”.

Sniffing before wiping the mucus away with a facial tissue, Sayuri turned her tear-filled swollen red eyes towards her husband, “He’s just a baby! Who would want to take our baby? He hasn’t even turned one yet! Oh God, is this one of those child kidnappings like what happened in Konoha? You remember what that Konoha shinobi said before he escorted you to the Capital last month? He mentioned that during the peace negotiations with Kumo, one of the Kumo shinobi kidnapped the Hyuga clan’s baby heiress but they managed to get the baby back eventually. Did Kumo take our son?”

Patting his wife on her back in order to help keep her calm, Takeji replied, “According to shinobi-san, Kumo were after the baby’s Byakugan eyes. I’m quite certain that our son does not have the Byakugan, or any other special eyes that I know of. The only special thing about him would be from my Kaa-san’s heritage, but none of our four older girls have shown any signs of inheriting anything from my Kaa-san. The younger two have yet to develop chakra networks that are mature enough to tell, although Rumi is getting close. You’ll be able to start teaching her the basic katas of the Soft Palm Style soon."

"Remain calm Sayuri-chan, we will find Genji-kun soon enough. I’m sure of it. Kaa-san even said that her seal perimeter was not breached. So, if someone didn’t come in to take Genji-kun, then Genji-kun must still be on the estate somewhere. So, calm down and please stop crying, Sayuri-chan. We will find him. Everything is going to be ok. He’s probably having the time of his life right now, thinking this is all one big game of hide and seek or something”, Takeji said as he gave a small smile to his wife.

“If he hasn’t been kidnapped and is actually playing hide and seek, that means we are going to have a really cheeky son when he grows up Takeji-san. And we can’t scold him either, he hasn’t even spoken his first words yet so he won’t understand what we’re saying. We should get your Kaa-san to create a location seal tag and wrap it around his wrist or ankle or something, so we know where he is at all times", Sayuri sniffed and wiped away some of the tears that were falling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry but I can’t help it Takeji-san, I keep thinking that some shinobi bastard has taken our son! I hope they didn’t hurt him! Oh, my poor little Genji-kun!” Sayuri stuttered out as she began crying once more into her husband’s chest.

Not really knowing what else to say, Takeji opted for embracing his wife in both arms while leaning his face on top of her head, giving the top of her head a quick peck.

“Why aren’t we out there looking for him with the others, Takeji-san?” Sayuri whispered between sniffing back more mucus.

“Just in case he comes back to the main house, Sayuri-chan”, Takeji said, _‘or if a ransom note arrives via messenger bird’_, he thought to himself. Voicing those thoughts would not help improve his wife’s current fragile emotional state, quite the opposite in fact.

_'Someone has to remain calm and rational in these sorts of situations after all. I swear, if it turns out that someone did indeed kidnap you Genji-kun, I will hunt them down to the ends of the world. This is my promise to you Genji-kun, wherever you may be right now. An Amano always fulfills their promise to a loved one!’ _ Takeji thought to himself, his steely eyes radiating a small amount of killing intent.


	10. Chapter 10

I instinctively knew that I was in danger. I couldn’t explain it, I just knew. Maybe it was the way their beady little black eyes looked at me or the way their whiskers moved as they scrunched their noses, sniffing the air. Probably for my scent.

_‘Am I going to have to fight these rabbits? Is this how The Gamer fought those zombies, he just somehow found himself in… Oh! Crap! Is this that different realm thing? Erm, what’s it called again? Dungeon something? Or something dungeon?’_

Fear, an immense amount of palpable fear so concentrated that it felt like you could carve out a serving with an ice-cream scoop. I felt this enormous amount of fear crashing over me like a wave, it was overwhelmingly obvious that this was the fear of death.

_‘SHIT! IM GONNA DIE! OH NO, NOT AGAIN! NO! NO!! I REFUSE TO DIE SO EASILY!!’_

Dropping back down from the window sill in a rush, onto the wooden blocks then onto the floor, I panicked and glanced around the room looking for a weapon of some sort to defend myself with.

_‘Shit! Shit! Ojii-san’s rattan chair? Too big. Wooden blocks? Too small. Pillows on the floor? Worse than useless. Shit! Weapon! I need a weapon to fight with.’_

Glancing at the bookshelf, I spotted Rumi’s previous favorite scroll. After receiving her new kung fu scroll, this particular scroll was stored up neatly together with a few children’s books on this bookshelf.

_‘What are the chances its also a kung fu scroll? Argh no time, I hope that it’s a kung fu scroll. If it isn't then there’s always the knives in the kitchen.’_

Rushing over towards the bookshelves, I saw a rabbit jump in through the open window. Grabbing the scroll, I hurriedly ran towards the sliding door as I heard more ‘whump’ sounds from the direction of the window. Guessing that those were probably more rabbits landing inside the room, I didn’t bother looking back and opened the sliding door, rushing outside before slamming the sliding door shut while running in the direction of the dining area.

_‘Those paper doors aren’t going to hold those rabbits for very long. Faster! Need to get to those knives, and they’re probably high up on the kitchen counter too so I’ll need to do some climbing.’_

Running as fast as my little legs could manage, not caring about how much noise my footsteps were making, I ran through the dining area towards the kitchen. Deciding that some obstacles were better than nothing, as I ran past my baby chair, I pushed it over. Or at least tried to push it over.

_‘Why the hell is this thing so sturdy? Oh right, baby chair. Also, I’m baby height and don’t have the necessary leverage. Shit! No time! Kitchen! Knives!’_

Heading towards the kitchen counter, I tucked the scroll safely into the front of my diaper and thought about the fastest way to climb. Open the drawers then use them as a makeshift stairway? Use the drawer handles as rock climbing holds? Push that small stool over here then use it to jump up and pull myself up onto the counter?

_‘Makeshift stairs! Also, easier to get back down! Go! GO! GO!! GO GENJI! DON’T DIE AGAIN!’_

Quickly pulling open the drawer at the very bottom, climbing up onto the various plates stacked up neatly, I then repeated this action for the second and third drawer. Stepping on a stack of smaller plates then chopsticks and soup spoons, I reached the kitchen counter. Walking briskly over towards the knife rack, because I didn’t want to misstep and subsequently fall the three and a half feet towards the ground, I finally arrived at my destination.

Looking over the knives, I selected two of the smallest ones as those looked to be the best fit for my baby hands. Glancing at the hallway I came from, I didn’t see any rabbits. Climbing back down the makeshift stairs, I found myself safely back on the kitchen floor. Weapons in hand, I now needed to select an appropriate battleground.

_‘But first, let’s take a look at that scroll. No rabbits in sight, guess there’s no time like the present.’_

Squatting down, I placed the knives on the floor, extracting the scroll from the front of my diaper then placed it on the floor and unfurled it. I noticed that there were indeed diagrams of a man in various kung fu positions.

**|[ This scroll contains knowledge on Soft Palm Style: The Fundamentals. Do you wish to learn it? ]|**

“Yes! Learn it!”

**|[ You do not have enough EXP to perform this action. This action requires 5,000 EXP. You currently have 0 EXP. ]|**

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?”

Hearing sounds coming from the hallway, I looked up and saw a fluffy white mess: rabbits were all over the hallway. They were climbing up on top of each other, seemingly in a hurry to get to me. This operated in my favor as the hallway served as a bottleneck, however they would soon reach the dining area and eventually the kitchen.

“SHITTT! Stupid Gamer system! Arghhhh!”

Hurriedly grabbing the scroll and both my knives, I ran out the other entrance of the kitchen into a different hallway, heading in the direction of the bedrooms of my older siblings who each had their own room, even the twins didn’t share a room. As I ran, I rolled the scroll back up into a more portable size, stuffing it down the back of my diaper.

_‘Ok! Think, think Genji! Think like your life depends on it, because it does!’_

Reaching Qipao Sister’s bedroom, I opened the sliding door and rushed inside, sliding the door closed behind me. Looking around, I saw that the room had two exits, the main door and the door leading towards a bathroom. Glancing inside the bathroom, I noticed that there was another door, which led to Misaki’s room.

_‘Ahh, a shared bathroom with two entrances. Ok, ok. Hmm. This could work, sort of.’_ I thought to myself as the beginnings of a plan began to form in my mind.

“I could do a fighting retreat sort of thing, starting from out in the hallway, into Qipao Sister’s room, through this bathroom then into Misaki’s room. This way the enclosed space would ensure that I’m not overwhelmed by their numbers. Right. Ok, let’s do this. Hey, why don’t I just start the fight from the kitchen onwards? It’ll give me more space to do my fighting retreat!”

Opening the sliding door of Qipao Sister’s room, I looked out into the hallway, which was currently clear of any rabbits. Heading in the direction of the kitchen, I stopped when a rabbit popped its head into the hallway from the kitchen’s entrance. It was sniffing the air, and hadn’t noticed me yet as its head was facing away from me.

Deciding that I should utilize the element of surprise while I still had it, I palmed a knife in each hand, both facing downwards as I intended to go for stabbing downwards rather than upwards as this would be the more efficient use of energy. After all, I did have several hundred rabbits to kill.

Rushing towards the rabbit, who had heard me by now, I realized that I hadn’t fully thought out this plan as I didn’t know how to abruptly stop and get myself into a proper position to stab the rabbit without stabbing myself in the process.

Knowing that the die had been cast and that it was too late to back out now, I simply decided to wing it and jumped at the rabbit, both hands out in front of me, knives facing the rabbit, legs out behind me.

“DIEEE!” I screamed in mid-air at the white fluffiness before me.

Rabbits have surprisingly fast reflexes, as I discovered when the rabbit simply dodged my flying self by springing backwards and out of reach of both my knives. The knives which then hit the floor and bounced away, towards the hallway I had just came from.

“Oh shit! My knives!” I exclaimed as I hurriedly got to my feet. I then noticed that the rabbit was jumping at me while barring its six incisors: two big ones on top, two big ones on the bottom and two smaller teeth behind the big ones up top.

**|[ Threat detected. Assisted Combat System activated. ACS utilizes 5 CP per second. ]|**

The flying rabbit, a mere baby hand width away from me, slowed down considerably in mid-air. Quickly realizing that this was some sort of bullet-time mode and that I was still alive, then remembering that I didn’t actually have that much CP, I swiftly turned around and went to collect my knives which were now bouncing in slow-motion across the floor quite a distance behind me.

_‘I sure hope this ACS’ CP consumption is calculated based on one second of real-time and not bullet-time.’_

Grabbing both my knives, I then ran towards the mid-air rabbit and stabbed both my knives into both of its black eyes in an inward manner. That was when time seemed to resume its normal speed as I ran out of CP and the rabbit flew at me, catching me off guard. Barely having any time to react, all I could manage was ducking and trying to avoid the sharp-looking incisors of death.

The rabbit continued its trajectory above my head with both my knives stuck inside its eye sockets. Landing on the ground behind me in a heap, the rabbit twitched its hind legs a few times, its ears swishing back and forth before flopping downwards abruptly as if someone had unplugged its battery, the battery brand likely Energizer.

**|[ You have killed a Frenzied White Rabbit. +50 EXP ]|**

“Oh crap, I have to kill a hundred of these things before I can learn kung fu? SHIT!”

The noise generated by my first fight seemed to have attracted the attention of the bunny horde as rabbits starting streaming into the hallway from the kitchen. Rushing towards the rabbit corpse, I pulled out my knives and assumed a defensive stance behind the corpse, with my knees bent slightly and my arms in a boxer’s pose, except with knives in both my hands that were facing away from me.

“I just need to kill 99 more of you, then its kung fu time! Status!”

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 1**

**Title: -**

**HP: 12**

**CP: 1 / 45**

**STR: 4**

**AGI: 3**

**VIT: 3**

**INT: 15**

**WIS: 10**

**Points: 0**

**Experience: 5% to next level**

“Shit! That’s right, I’m not near Kiyoko now. Ah crap! Gamer System, how much CP do I gain per second?”

**|[ You currently generate 0.17 CP per second. ]|**

_‘Oh shit, that means I can only use ACS once every 30 seconds. Based on this math my CP regeneration rate is apparently my amount of Wisdom per minute. Shit!’_

“Alright you bunch of carrot eating pests! LET’S DO THIS!” I yelled at the assembling horde before me, which cause the rabbits to swarm forward towards me like a fluffy white tsunami, a fluffy white tsunami with teeth.

“ARGHHHH! DIEEE! DIEEE!” I screamed as I took a step backwards with every stab of the knives in my hand. Getting a kill in one blow was impossible unless I stabbed it right in the eye socket. Otherwise the knife would simply bounce off their skull due to my baby strength.

By the time I had retreated to Qipao Sister’s door, I had only managed to kill eighteen rabbits. The sheer number of rabbits had resulted in them getting in each other’s way, which allowed me to escape being overwhelmed by those sharp teeth of theirs that I had managed to dodge, so far.

**|[ Assisted Combat System activated. ACS utilizes 5 CP per second. ]|**

_‘Just in time! Got to kill as many as I can while in ACS!’_ I thought to myself as I stabbed the rabbit closest to me in its right eye.

**|[ You have killed a Frenzied White Rabbit. +50 EXP ]|**

**|[ You have leveled up. +5 Points ]|**

“Shit! What happens to my accumulated EXP if I level up? Gamer System, how much EXP do I have now?” I said as I managed to stab two more rabbits in their eyes and killing them as evidenced by the popups before real-time resumed, so I pulled the sliding door open and threw myself into Qipao Sister’s room.

**|[ You currently have 100 EXP. ]|**

“NO! WHAT!? SHIT! So EXP is used to automatically level up before I can spend it on things? SHITTT! I could really use that kung fu right about now! Arghhh! Ok Genji, focus! Rabbits are coming in the door now. Gamer System assign 3 points into wisdom, 2 points into strength!”

Climbing up onto the three-foot high super king-sized bed because I remembered something about fighting from high ground (thanks, Star Wars!) and I currently needed all the advantage I could get, I proceeded to acclimatize myself to the softness of the bed as I adjusted my footing into a more comfortable position.

Wiping my hands on my diaper as they were now dripping with rabbit blood, I prepared for the oncoming battle. The rabbits streamed into the room, one jumping onto the bed only to be stabbed in the head as my right knife bounced off his skull, only for my left knife to find its target and only weak point that I knew of: its eye socket.

This pattern continued for awhile as the rabbits didn’t really think to look upwards and simply crowded around the bedroom floor while constantly sniffing the air, only one or two jumping up onto the bed at the same time where they were swiftly dispatched to the bunny afterlife.

**|[ You have leveled up. +5 Points ]|**

_‘Finally! Gamer System assign 3 points into wisdom, 2 points into agility! Also, how much EXP to get to the next level? And what is the EXP requirement per level?’_

**|[ You require 4,000 EXP to attain Level 4. ]|**

**|[ EXP requirement to attain the next level doubles at every level. ]|**

_‘What? Won’t this simply result in a grind fest at later levels? Won’t I need like a million EXP to reach Level 12? I’d have to kill 20,000 rabbits for that! Are you kidding me?’_ I thought to myself as I didn’t want to alert the crowd of rabbits currently filling the bedroom as to my present location.

After the battle had begun inside Qipao Sister’s bedroom, I noticed that the rabbit corpses would begin to crumble into dust after a minute or so, as if Thanos had snapped their corpses out of existence. This allowed me to maintain my position in the center of the bed, slowly killing rabbits as they jumped onto the bed.

The rabbit blood covering my entire body from head to toe and the bed didn’t disappear though. I currently looked like a deranged rabbit murderer, only missing a bloody axe to complete the look as I stood in a puddle of rabbit blood which had begun spilling over the sides of the bed, staining the sea of white rabbit fur below a dark red.

After switching bedrooms several times as the puddles of rabbit blood had begun to hinder my combat performance which forced me to move from bedroom to bedroom, I found myself back in my parent’s bedroom. I was currently sitting on top of the bed, right in the center as I waited for the next attack in the strangely calming darkness of the night, my only source of light the moonlight shining in through the windows.

Every now and then throughout the day, I would have to fight my way towards the kitchen, filling my sippy cup with water then drinking it for the 1 HP gain for every mouthful of water that I drank. Bringing a full sippy cup of water back to whatever bedroom it was that I was fighting from would last a few hours before I had to repeat the bloody cycle once more as my HP fell.

I was tired, extremely tired. Also, hungry. I had been killing rabbits since this morning, the only boost of energy I got was from leveling up as it seemed to reset my HP, CP and stamina levels back to full, also removing my hunger somehow. However, the last level up was a few hours ago and I was now beginning to get really sleepy. Knowing that sleep meant death, I kept my eyes open through sheer force of will.

_‘Need to do something to keep my mind occupied. So tired. So sleepy. Erm, err, oh right, Status!’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 6**

**Title: -**

**HP: 38 / 100**

**CP: 150 / 150**

**STR: 10**

**AGI: 5**

**VIT: 10**

**INT: 15**

**WIS: 20**

**Points: 0**

**Experience: 25.31% to next level**

My HP is low and my sippy cup is empty but it’s way too dark and I don’t want to risk losing any health to sneaky bunny attacks that I can’t see coming. There’s probably still a few dozen wandering around the house, I guess me being covered in dried rabbit blood along with half the house has thrown off their ability to track me via scent. Too bad there’s no electricity in this Battle Dungeon thing that I’m in.

During the day I had tried to exit this realm, only for the popup box to inform me that I ‘could not exit the Battle Dungeon while any enemies remained’. Asking how many enemies I had to kill in total resulted in the popup box displaying a number of 1,000. It’s been a few hours since then, how many more enemies to go?

_'Battle Dungeon Status!’_

**|[ Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits. 782 / 1,000 killed. 13 enemies remaining. ]|**

I had realized about an hour ago that over 200 rabbits had apparently been killed by their own kin, possibly due to asphyxiation as the rabbits crowded themselves in the hallways and bedrooms, so some inevitably died from being squashed underneath the pile, unable to breathe.

_‘Oh, I have enough EXP to learn that stupid scroll now. With my current wisdom stats I can use a second of ACS every 15 seconds, more than enough to kill three to four rabbits every minute. Do I really need to learn Rumi’s kung fu at this point?’_ I thought to myself as I pulled the squashed and blood-soaked scroll from the back of my diaper and unrolled it across the bed.

**|[ This scroll contains knowledge on Soft Palm Style: The Fundamentals. Do you wish to learn it? ]|**

_‘Huh, still works even though none of the diagrams are legible due to all the blood. Better safe than sorry I suppose. Sorry Rumi, I’ll think of a way to make it up to you later. Learn!’_

The scroll before me transformed into what appeared to be shining drops of liquid light before flying directly into my mind. The next moment, I suddenly knew the fundamentals of the Soft Palm Style as well as I knew my own name.

**|[ You have spent 5,000 EXP to perform this action. You have 3,100 EXP remaining. ]|**

**|[ You have learnt Soft Palm Style: The Fundamentals. ]|**

_‘This seems to be a martial arts style more attuned towards defense than offense, with the open palms redirecting an opponent’s blows away from my torso while maintaining my center of balance. There seems to be complicated footwork but none of it is used in an offensive capacity, the legs are purely for defense and maintaining center of balance.’_

Deciding that it was time to end this, I pulled myself off the bed, glancing around the dark room for any hints of white fur to indicate a nearby rabbit. Seeing none, I crept towards the closed sliding door which had several holes in it from the rabbits forcing their way through.

Sliding the broken door open, I walked out into the hallway, squinting in the semi-darkness as some moonlight entered from the multiple holes in the blood-covered paper walls separating the various different rooms. Cautiously walking past the dining room and into the kitchen, I crept towards my makeshift drawer-stairs that I had used multiple times throughout the day.

I carefully walked up in as much silence as I could muster, before heading towards the tap by the kitchen sink. Taking one last look around the kitchen to ensure that I was alone, I stepped into the sink and leaned my head under the tap before turning it on. Quickly wiping as much blood as possible off my face, I then filled my sippy cup and turned off the tap. The sound was sure to attract the attention of the remaining 13 rabbits towards the kitchen.

Walking as carefully as possible towards the makeshift stairs and carefully making my way down, I quickly and quietly walked back towards my parent’s bedroom, a full sippy cup in one hand and a knife in the other. I had lost the second knife in a particularly brutal melee in Rumi and Kiyoko’s room, and yes, they were my only sisters to share a room. I’m guessing that this was due to their young age.

_‘I couldn’t find Rumi’s second kung fu scroll. It wasn’t in their bedroom. I wonder whether she was holding it at the time, as held or worn items didn’t seem to make it into this Battle Dungeon. Due to the lack of random piles of clothes on the floor from all the people that lived or worked in this house, my theory was that items held or worn by a living person other than myself weren't brought into the Battle Dungeon, but I could be wrong. Why was Rumi holding her scroll and not her doll? Maybe she was simply reading the scroll and not practicing stances with the doll.’_

A silver lining to this blood-colored cloud was that my increased stats had allowed me better control over my mouth and tongue, so I was now capable of speaking Japanese words out loud, albeit limited to my undersized Japanese vocabulary. I practiced my speaking capability throughout the day by screaming random Japanese words at the rabbits. One instance was me shouting ‘You toboggan! Walk and play! Learn miso soup!’ as an impromptu battle cry while fighting off three rabbits on Sakamae’s bed.

After an hour or two, maybe three, I couldn’t really tell as none of the clocks hanging on the wall seemed to be working, I finally lured and killed the 12th remaining rabbit. Unlucky number 13, where could it be? That’s when my heart skipped a beat as I heard an ungodly growl coming from outside the house.

_‘Oh shit, is that what I think it is? The Boss Rabbit? Oh man, I’m so tired. Better go drink more water to refill my HP before I fight this one, it sounds big.’_

As I walked towards the kitchen, I relieved myself into my rabbit blood-soaked diaper. With the entire house covered in blood stains and looking like the site of a mass murder, I didn’t really care that my dehydration process was adding more bodily fluids to the hallway. All the bloodshed throughout the day had thoroughly desensitized and degraded my notions of cleanliness and hygiene. After all, getting oneself drenched in rabbit blood from morning till late at night tended to have that effect on most people.

After drinking enough water till my Status indicated that my HP was back at 100 / 100, I washed my sole remaining knife under the running tap water for the 20th or 30th time today and decided to go meet the Boss Rabbit outside. I had noticed earlier in the day that as my HP filled up, my bite wounds would close up and new skin would sprout as if by magic. As I walked towards the main entrance, I realized that there was starting to be some daylight in the sky. Pushing open the main entrance and stepping outside confirmed that sunlight was indeed starting to appear on the horizon.

_‘Oh no, the sun’s coming up already? That means it’s currently like 6:30 am or something. Well, shit.’_

Too tired to go tracking down the Boss Rabbit who was currently wandering around the estate somewhere, I simply screamed at the top of my baby lungs “HAPPY OJII-SAN! NO EAT ME MILK! PLAY SNOW! YES!” in broken Japanese.

A few moments later, a giant rabbit about the size of an adult hippopotamus turned around the corner of the main house and stared at me from a distance. It’s dinner plate-sized black beady eyes seemingly staring straight into my soul.

“Oh, shit. You’re one big rabbit. Alright, I’m sleepy, hungry, covered in rabbit blood and my diaper is filled with baby shit and pee. I only continued to wear said diaper because fighting your rabbit minions with their big dangerous teeth while buck naked didn’t seem very wise. No point risking my dangly bits for hygiene purposes, not that I actually have dangly bits seeing as I’m a baby and all. But why take the risk, am I right? Anyways, enough with the pre-fight trash talk. Come on, LET’S DO THIS!”

Adopting the Soft Palm Style stance, I prepared myself to face the charging giant rabbit. Only, the Boss Rabbit didn’t charge at me, it chose to simply continue staring at me from its position.

_‘Er, what? I had assumed that my taunts were being understood as every time I yelled at the rabbits, they would charge at me. Do the rabbits not actually understand me or is the Boss Rabbit being cautious because I’m mostly responsible for the death of a thousand of its minions?’_

Without any patience holding me back, I decided to go on the offense even though the Soft Palm Style had no real opening offensive moves as it was mostly a deflect and counterattack type of martial art. It was a technique that was reactive towards an opponent’s offense rather than being proactive in attacking. Ignoring this drawback in my new martial art, I boldly proceeded forward towards the Boss Rabbit.

Once I got within ten feet of it, the Boss Rabbit then let out a loud groaning noise of some kind and started baring its large incisors at me, each large tooth was larger than my head, the two smaller teeth the size of my palms.

Quickly adopting the Soft Palm Style stance, knife in my right fist facing towards the Boss Rabbit, I prepared for the fight that was about to begin. Except the Boss Rabbit once again simply stood its ground while baring its teeth at me.

_‘Is it… is it scared of me? Perhaps it can smell the blood of its minions on my person?’_

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, I charged forward, aiming to sidestep its incisors at the last moment and stab it in one of its large eyes. The Boss Rabbit surprised me by leaping upwards when I was less than a foot away from its giant nose. Glancing upwards to determine the direction of its jump, I saw that it had jumped towards its left side. Turning right mid-step, I headed towards where I predicted that it would land.

The Boss Rabbit landed with a loud ‘WHUMP’ as some of its white fur briefly floated upwards from the impact. I arrived at the next moment and promptly shoved my small knife into its right eye, it wasn’t as hard to hit as its smaller minions as the eye of the Boss Rabbit was an enormous target, maybe eight or nine inches in diameter.

Wanting to ensure that my attack was successful, I plunged my arm into its eyeball up to my elbow, before rapidly pulling it back out. This resulted in the Boss Rabbit roaring loudly and once again jumping into the air, this time towards its right. Seeing as I lacked the momentum to get to its landing spot in time, I merely held my ground and waited to see what it would do next.

The Boss Rabbit then surprised me further by turning towards the frozen pond and hopping away in that direction, which happened to be away from where I currently stood. Blinking a few times, I decided to follow it, wondering what kinds of tricks it had up its sleeve. Upon reaching the frozen pond, I saw that it was right in the middle of the pond, apparently awaiting my arrival.

_‘I’m not that dumb! He’s just going to jump up when I get there, using the crushing force of his hind legs to break the ice and thus dropping me into the frozen water below while he lands far away in safety.’_

Standing on the banks of the frozen pond, I observed the Boss Rabbit who was bleeding profusely from its right eye, the red blood coloring the frozen pond a dark red. Deciding that going to meet him on the ice was pure foolishness, I simply stood there staring at him. After all, he was probably going to bleed out slowly judging by how far I plunged my arm into him.

This time it was the Boss Rabbit that lost its patience, charging at me from its spot at the center of the pond. It leaped upwards towards me, in the process breaking the ice with its hind legs just as I had suspected. Guesstimating that the Boss Rabbit would land directly where I was standing, I planned to activate ACS and stab it in its left eye the moment it landed.

**|[ Assisted Combat System activated. ACS utilizes 5 CP per second. ]|**

Moments before it could crush me, I turned on ACS and ran out from beneath the Boss Rabbit towards its left side. When its left eye was within reach, I repeated my actions. Stab, plunge, pull arm back out, get to safe distance about ten feet away, deactivate ACS. The Boss Rabbit landed with a loud ‘WHUMP’ once again. But due to it now being blinded in both eyes, it started panicking.

Running towards the main house, the Boss Rabbit crashed through the walls and loud crashing sounds occurred from within the main house as the Boss Rabbit continued its blind struggles. Following cautiously after it, I finally found it resting inside Tsuki’s bedroom, the weight of the Boss Rabbit having crushed her originally three-foot high bed into something that was about eight inches in height. Pitiful crying sounds were being emitted from the Boss Rabbit.

“Now I feel like the bad guy. Urghhh. Stupid rabbits. First you try to kill me, then now that I’m winning you portray me as the bad guy in all this? Like I started all this shit in the first place? No, _you _started this shit. I’m just ending it.”

Walking away towards the kitchen, I proceeded to climb up the drawer-stairs, grabbing the largest knife from the knife rack, back down the makeshift stairs, then making my way back to Tsuki’s room. Holding the large knife with both hands, I decided to end the Boss Rabbit’s pain in the only method I could think of.

Taking a deep breath, I stabbed upwards into its punctured eyesocket then pushed with my entire baby body weight into the eyeball, aiming to cut into its brains. My body disappeared into the Boss Rabbit’s skull as I floundered around in its eye juice, continuously stabbing and hoping for a confirmation popup that I had killed the Boss Rabbit.

Not getting one after a few moments, I decided to exit and catch my breath, filling my lungs back up with that sweet, sweet oxygen. Perhaps I needed to jump in order to penetrate the brain? Repeating this process of skull spelunking a few more times, I finally succeeded on my fourth attempt.

**|[ You have killed a Frenzied White Rabbit Baron. +5 Million EXP ]|**

**|[ You have leveled up (x7). +35 Points ]|**

**|[ You gained White Rabbit Shoes, White Rabbit Leg Warmers and White Rabbit Hat. Loot automatically stored in Inventory. ]|**

“WHOA! That’s a lot of EXP for one rabbit baron! Wait, isn’t baron the lowest rank in royalty? Are there stronger rabbits? Anyways, it doesn’t matter. Status!”

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 13**

**Title: -**

**HP: 100**

**CP: 150**

**STR: 10**

**AGI: 5**

**VIT: 10**

**INT: 15**

**WIS: 20**

**Points: 35**

**Experience: 23.06% to next level**

“So many points! Ahhh! My sleepiness is completely gone, I’m totally wide awake now! Ok, lets see. Let’s put 5 points into Agility bringing it up to 10 which is in line with the others. 5 into Intelligence which brings it on par at 20 with Wisdom. That leaves 25 points left, hmmm which stats to put them into? Should I save them? No, no, that’s just silly. Alright, let’s just add 5 to every stat.”

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 13**

**Title: -**

**HP: 225**

**CP: 375**

**STR: 15**

**AGI: 15**

**VIT: 15**

**INT: 25**

**WIS: 25**

**Points: 0**

**Experience: 23.06% to next level**

“Although I have large amounts of Intelligence and Wisdom, I’m currently mostly a melee fighter that relies on the bullet-time effect of the Assisted Combat System. ACS has no cooldown and is only limited by the number of CP I have, as such it’s in my best interest to have a generalist build with a focus on Intelligence and Wisdom.”

_‘Is this ratio good enough? Or should I place more emphasis on my physical side of things like Strength and Agility? Or should I make all the stats exactly the same? After all, there doesn’t seem to be a limit to the number of levels I can obtain, only that each level requires double the amount of EXP of the previous level. I suppose it starts getting ridiculous above Level 100.’_

“I noticed that putting points into my Vitality increased the amount of CP that I had. CP seems to be comprised of Vitality multiplied by Intelligence. How odd. Never heard of mana being calculated that way before. Healthy body, healthy mind maybe? Who knows.”

_‘Oooh! I have an Inventory! I completely forgot about that! Inventory!’_

**INVENTORY**

**White Rabbit Hat (+3 Intelligence. Part of The White Rabbit Set.)**

**White Rabbit Leg Warmers (+3 Agility. Part of The White Rabbit Set.)**

**White Rabbit Shoes (+3 Agility. Part of The White Rabbit Set.) **

“What does this White Rabbit Set do?”

**The White Rabbit Set**

**When all 7 items are worn, provides the following additional benefits: (+3 to all stats, +10% movement speed, +10% evasion)**

“WHOA!! That’s insane! +3 to all stats? That’s equivalent to gaining 3 levels worth of stats! Not to mention the increase in movement speed and evasion! Holy crap I need to get this! How do I complete the set?”

**|[ You may repeat Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits. However, every time you do so the number of enemy doubles and the difficulty of the final enemy increases. ]|**

“No drop in the number of EXP received per enemy?”

**|[ Amount of EXP gained per enemy remains constant. ]|**

“This is so broken! I’m totally gonna farm the hell out of this Battle Dungeon! Also, quick question, why are you being so helpful all of a sudden?”

. . .

. . .

“Right. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Got it.”

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

“As my UK friends would say: you cheeky bastard. Ok, fine, I get it.”

As my adrenaline rush ended and my tiredness due to lack of sleep and almost a full day of fighting began creeping back in, I looked around the mess that was Tsuki’s room.

“This Battle Dungeon doesn’t affect the real world, right?”

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

“Good. Thanks for everything Gamer System. And sorry for calling you shit previously. I take back those words.”

Walking back towards the dining area, I looked at the knife in my hand and a truly devious thought crossed my mind.

_‘What if I could duplicate items by bringing them back from the Battle Dungeon? Everything in here is a copy of something that’s out in the real world, right? Ooh, I could rob all sorts of stores blind and they wouldn’t even know!’_

“Exit Battle Dungeon!”

**|[ You have exited Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits. ]|**

The completely ruined and blood-stained dining area around me immediately disappeared and was replaced by a pristine looking one, the walls clear of any blood stains or holes. Looking at the knife in my hand, disappointment flowed through me as the knife crumbled into dust.

_‘Guess only loot gained from the final enemy as well as knowledge from scrolls can be brought back into the real world. Wonder if Rumi’s first scroll is still there on the bookshelf? If it is, then I don’t actually have to destroy her scroll out here in the real world when I can just absorb its knowledge inside a Battle Dungeon.’_

Hearing sobbing sounds, I glanced up and saw Kaa-san sitting alone at the dining table, sobbing pitiably into the crook of her elbow. A small puddle of snot and tears had formed on the table directly below where her face was. She must have been crying here for hours. Poor Kaa-san.

Looking down at myself, I saw a blood-covered body, blood-soaked diaper, some Boss Rabbit eye juice still slowly dripping down my legs. Sigh. Nothing like the present.

“Kaa-san”, I said aloud in Japanese.

The high-pitched scream that followed could have shattered glass, I was actually rather surprised that it didn’t.

* * *

“WHAT ARE YOU!? HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE!?” screamed Sayuri at the tiny red demon that seemingly appeared out of thin air right beside her.

“What’s going on!?” Takeji said as he urgently rushed into the dining area, wondering what his wife was screaming about. He was in the middle of drafting a mission request letter to Konoha to locate his missing son, he didn’t need his wife’s hysterics distracting him. The lack of a ransom demand a clear sign that this was blackmail of some sort and not a kidnapping for ransom as he had originally feared.

“THAT!” Sayuri screamed as she pointed her right index finger at the bloody hell spawn beside her.

“What’s happening? Who’s screaming?” Morimasa said as he entered the dining area a few moments after his son had arrived, Kiyoko-chan in his arms, Rumi-chan walking right behind him, his wife and Masago-chan following closely behind.

“GENNNJI-KUNNN!!” screamed Kiyoko in her loudest voice to date. Struggling to be released from her Ojii-san’s arms, Kiyoko continued screaming her brother’s name.

“What’s with all the screaming? What’s going on?” Naoko said as she entered the dining area, her equally concerned three younger sisters following not far behind.

“GENJI-KUN IS BACK!” Kiyoko screamed as she pointed at her red paint-covered baby brother standing beside the dining table, her Kaa-san having retreated a few steps to stand behind Tou-san while continuing to point at her long-lost brother who was currently smiling at her.

“STAY AWAY FROM IT KIYOKO-CHAN! IT’S A DEMON!” screamed Sayuri, her fear of losing a child blooming into reality once again. She had already lost a son, she wasn’t going to lose her youngest daughter to this crimson monster.

“Gen… Genji-kun!? Are you my Genji-kun?” Morimasa asked the small child by the dining table that was seemingly covered in blood, hope rising in his heart.

“Ojii-san!” replied the smiling boy. The smile was hard to look at as his face was currently completely covered in blood, both dried and fresh, making the boy look like a smiling tomato.

“I KNEW IT! GENJI-KUN! YOU’RE BACK!” screamed Kiyoko as she finally freed herself from her shocked Ojii-san’s arms, dropping about three feet to the floor then running as fast as she could to hug her favorite playmate that she feared had been taken away from her.

There were more screaming protests from Sayuri about Kiyoko getting away from the scarlet abomination, while Takeji brought a bowl of warm water from the kitchen and a clean cloth over to the boy who had some similarities to his son. He couldn’t quite tell for sure if the boy was indeed his son as the boy in question was currently completely covered in blood, which was also dripping onto his dining area’s floor.

“What is my favourite soup?” Morimasa crouched down and asked the boy as everyone went silent in order to hear the answer. Hope was bubbling up inside Morimasa’s heart.

“Miso soup Ojii-san!” the boy said as Takeji was wiping away chunks of dried blood as well as fresh blood from the boy’s face.

“And why do I like miso soup?” further questioned Morimasa, the hope in his heart currently threatening to overflow its container.

“Good. Soul.” replied the boy as he struggled to pronounce the words.

“And what is Kiyoko-chan’s favorite toy?” was Morimasa final question to test the boy, the hope in his heart currently overflowing its container and flooding Depression City.

“Erm. Square. Wood?” the boy said as he struggled with the words.

“IT’S YOU! YOU’RE MY GENJI-KUN! AH HA HA HA” Morimasa cried out and hugged the boy as tears began flowing down his cheeks, Depression City completely destroyed in an unexpected flash flood of happiness and joy.

“Genji-kun? Is that really you?” Sayuri asked in a small voice. Now that most of the blood around his face had been cleared away by Takeji, she could see an uncanny resemblance between the boy and her lost son.

“Kaa-san… I… Love you”, the boy struggled out, seemingly having a hard time with the pronunciations.

“OH! IT’S REALLY YOU GENJI-KUN! I LOVE YOU TOO!” Sayuri screamed and hugged the boy, snatching him away from an amused Morimasa’s arms.

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? WHY ARE YOU COVERED IN BLOOD?” Sayuri continued screaming her questions, her emotions a mixture of happiness, worry, disgust, anger but most of all, relief.

“I think Genji-kun needs a change of diaper. I can smell it from here”, a calm voice said as everyone in the room looked towards Rumi, then towards Genji.

“Oh, yes. Let me do it Sayuri-chan”, Takeji said as he scrunched up his nose and his mind finally began processing what exactly that foul smell was that he had been smelling for the past few minutes.

“I think I’ll give Genji-kun a nice long bath instead”, Sayuri said as she smiled warmly at her son, hugging him close to her chest and walking towards the bathroom, the boy dripping a trail of blood onto the floor the entire way.


	11. Chapter 11

**~~ 2 Weeks Later ~~**

Round. Bouncy. A soft and smooth outer layer with a firm interior. That’s how I would describe this ball that Tou-san had given to me after he noticed that I liked throwing Kiyoko’s blocks around the playroom. My increased Strength stats meant that I could now hit the wall from across the room, something that Ojii-san seemed to notice.

However, in the interest of not constantly hearing the sound of blocks hitting the wall, Tou-san had given me this red bouncy ball to throw instead. It was the size of a tennis ball but had more elasticity, which meant that I didn’t need to move from my throwing spot if I threw it at the right angle, as it would make its way back to me.

It had been a month since ‘The Incident’ as Kaa-san had come to call it, and nothing much had changed. I still slept in my parent’s bedroom at night, I still woke up in the playroom, I still hung out with my two sisters Rumi and Kiyoko, we were still watched over by our three grandparents as my parents and older siblings went about their lives.

The only new thing was that I now had a rectangular paper charm thing hanging from a thin gold chain that I wore around my neck. It’s probably for good luck or to ward off evil spirits or whatever. When I asked Kaa-san what it was, she simply smiled and said that it was for my own good.

I was now learning Japanese at an increased rate, picking up words and phrases quickly, learning the proper pronunciations and everything. This was probably due to the amount of Intelligence stats that I now had. Or maybe it’s because I’m a baby and babies seem to soak up spoken languages like a sponge. Whichever it was, I was now able to converse with Rumi and Kiyoko as we hung out in the playroom, something that delighted them very much.

When I questioned Rumi about who her doll was based on, she simply said that it was a shinobi named Namikaze Minato, a hero of the Land of Fire. Not remembering ever hearing that name before in Naruto, I simply assumed that he was a famous character from Naruto: Shippuden, something that I never actually watched. Rumi also explained to me that the reason she can’t do the katas for the Soft Palm Style was because Kaa-san said she could only do it when she turned four years old, which would be in a few months’ time.

_‘The fundamentals of the Soft Palm Style do require some complex footwork, maybe Kaa-san wants Rumi to grow up a bit more before attempting to learn martial arts in case she injures herself.’_

Questioning Kiyoko on what she was building with her blocks resulted in me being regaled with her theories about how a tower surrounded by strong walls would be easier to defend against invasion. The defenders would have an easier time defending due to their height advantage, and being able to garrison the tower once the walls were overrun, all of this in order to buy more time for reinforcements to arrive. She hoped to build her own fortified tower one day to keep our family safe from invasion.

_‘Defending against invasion? What kind of children’s books are being read to Kiyoko anyway? And why is Kiyoko so wary of an invasion? Who on earth would even want to invade Japan?’_

Looking towards the bookshelf with all the children’s books stacked in neat rows, my eyes fell on something I was rather familiar with: Rumi’s scroll on the fundamentals of the Soft Palm Style. Apparently, me absorbing its knowledge inside the Battle Dungeon didn’t affect its real-world counterpart. This made sense in a way as items inside a Battle Dungeon were fully functional copies of their real-world counterparts but could not be brought out into the real-world.

The next time I went into the Battle Dungeon, I would make sure that Rumi wasn’t holding onto her new scroll on the Soft Palm Style: Dance of the Tiger Lily. When I questioned the Gamer System about whether I could transfer knowledge to others, the popup mentioned that it would only work inside a Battle Dungeon.

Upon further questioning on whether or not my sisters would gain EXP or stats or anything like that, I was informed that any kills made by others that I brought into the Battle Dungeon would be attributed to me and that my sisters could not receive any EXP or level up or gain any stats.

However, I apparently could gift others the loot that I had obtained and there would be real-world effects, with the restriction that the items had to be bound to the one receiving the gift and was non-transferable. As such, others who wore the items would not feel its effects. As a result, and also because I felt a bit bad about how I had made them worry so much about me, Rumi was currently wearing the White Rabbit Hat (+3 Intelligence) while Kiyoko was wearing the White Rabbit Leg Warmers (+3 Agility) and the White Rabbit Shoes (+3 Agility).

I wasn’t exactly sure what effects these extra attributes would have on my sisters as they didn’t seem to behave all that different to me, but they really loved the gifts and wore them every day. The hat looked like a white-furred ushanka complete with ear flaps and not bunny ears, the leg warmers had white fur along its exterior and the shoes looked like regular sneakers but had white fur on the outside. While these items were comfortable to wear now during the tail-end of winter, I wasn’t sure how practical it would be to wear these during the warmer seasons like summer.

When Ojii-san questioned where I got these from, I simply replied that I had taken them from wherever it was that I had disappeared to. As I couldn’t really explain what actually happened, I told everyone that I would simply bring them there one day. This resulted in Kaa-san not letting me out of her sight for a few days until I reassured her that I wasn’t going anywhere against my will.

_‘It felt a bit weird when Kaa-san insisted on sitting right beside me here in the playroom and following me everywhere I went. Good thing I convinced her that I wouldn’t suddenly disappear again without telling her first. That was the same day that Kaa-san gave me the gold chain with paper charm thing on it, right? Did she get it from a temple or something? Anyways, back to planning.’_

My current plans involved returning to Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits, absorbing the copy of the scroll on the Soft Palm Style: Dance of the Tiger Lily then grinding the Battle Dungeon till I had obtained three copies of The White Rabbit Set: one for Rumi, one for Kiyoko and one for myself. Doing so would also allow me to level up some more. After all, in this dangerous world of The Gamer: Japan Edition, one could never be too careful. Who knows what kinds of enemies would suddenly appear just like they did in The Gamer.

I had been informed by the Gamer System that there were other Battle Dungeons but the next one was called Battle Dungeon: Rabid Wolves and I really wasn’t going to attempt that without first getting my hands on a completed White Rabbit Set. And maybe some proper weapons, or a shield of some kind. Some sort of makeshift body armor wouldn’t hurt either. Getting bitten by rabid wolves wasn’t going to be a fun experience after all.

_‘The only issue with this plan is that I don’t know how I’m going to convince my parents to give me permission to disappear off to some strange mysterious place, a place I had previously returned from covered in blood. When I informed them that it was merely animal blood that I was covered in and not my own, it somehow made them even more worried!’_

Since the number of enemies had doubled, it might take me even longer than a day to complete my next attempt. Although, I’m a lot higher level now than I was the first time so maybe it might not take that long. I also needed to remember to bring lots of baby milk this time, the memories of hunger that day still clear to me. When I was in the Battle Dungeon I noted that there was running water but no electricity.

_‘So, how do I convince my parents? I can’t actually tell them about my Gamer ability, because how does a less than 1-year-old baby even know about video games in the first place? Unless I tell them I was reborn? No, that’s an even worse idea. Urgh. Alright, let’s set this issue aside for the moment. Time to test the limits of my Inventory.’_

Focusing my attention on the red ball that I was currently holding in my right hand, I thought _‘Inventory!’_. The ball immediately disappeared from my view. There were no puffs of smoke or shimmering of light or anything. It was simply there one moment and then it wasn’t. Opening up my left hand, I then mentally shifted the red ball from my Inventory into my hand. Just like when it had disappeared, one moment my left hand was empty and then a red ball suddenly appeared in it.

_‘This will come in handy at magic shows I suppose. Is it only limited to my hands or can other body parts activate Inventory? Hmm, let’s find out.’_

Placing the ball on the ground, I then placed the back of my right hand on the ball. _‘Inventory!’_ I mentally commanded, but nothing happened. Attempting this with my forearm, bicep, foot, calf, thigh, butt, placing the ball on my chest, on my forehead and all sorts of other body parts wielded similar results.

“So, it’s limited to something that I’m touching with my hands. It works even if a single fingertip is touching it, but not my fingernails and not if another object is already in my hands”, I said out loud, summarizing my findings.

“What was that Genji-kun?” Rumi questioned, looking sideways at me while holding her Minato doll.

“Oh, err, nothing, urm, want to see a magic trick?” I hastily said to cover up my verbal blunder. _‘Not yet used to the people around me actually understanding what I’m saying. I even think in Japanese now, how weird is that?’_

“YES!” Kiyoko eagerly shouted out while clapping, a look of excitement on her face. Then again, its Kiyoko, she always has a look of excitement on her face.

Moving over closer to them so that we were now seated roughly in a triangular position, Kiyoko on my left and Rumi on my right, I then began demonstrating my new grasp on my abilities.

“Hey, what’s that behind your ear Kiyoko?” I asked, reaching out with my left hand and placing it just under her left ear, I shifted the red ball into my left hand from my Inventory.

“Oh, you seem to have hidden a ball in your ear!” I exclaimed as I retracted my left hand, now with a red ball in it.

“HOW DID YOU DO THAT! GENJI-KUN!” screamed Kiyoko happily.

“How _did_ you do that Genji-kun”, Rumi asked, her face full of curiosity.

“Not sure what you’re talking about Rumi-chan, after all…”, placing the red ball into my right hand, I reached forward towards Rumi, placing my right hand just behind the right ear flap of her White Rabbit Hat, I then shifted the ball back into my Inventory.

“The ball is with you now, not me”, I said as I showed her my empty right hand.

Turning her head left and right, Rumi then decided to stand up to see where the ball had mysteriously gone to. Removing her hat and peering inside it, Rumi asked, “Where did it go Genji-kun?”

“HE MADE THE BALL DISAPPEAR RUMI-CHAN! HAHAHAHA” Kiyoko exclaimed excitedly while laughing.

“Oh, don’t be too excited Kiyoko-chan”, I said as Rumi sat back down with a perplexed look on her face.

“After all…”, reaching out with my left hand towards Kiyoko, I repeated my actions, producing a red ball in my left hand.

“The ball is with you!” I exclaimed while holding the ball out towards Kiyoko.

“HOW DID YOU DO THAT! AHAHAHA” Kiyoko enthusiastically shouted while grabbing the ball from my hand and looking at it in awe.

Smiling at both my sisters, my spontaneous magic show was interrupted when Kaori-obaasan slid open the playroom door, smiling at us and saying, “Dinner time!” before going over to a sleeping Ojii-san and nudging him awake. The five of us then headed towards the dining area, Kiyoko running ahead of the group.

After we had all sat down and Ojii-san had placed me into my baby chair, Kaa-san then placed a small bowl of rice on the table portion of my baby chair before handing me a tiny spoon that seemed to fit my baby hands.

_‘Oooh! I finally get to eat proper solid food that isn’t baby milk!’_

Smiling at Kaa-san who returned the smile, I excitedly started eating the plain white rice.

**|[ You are consuming rice. You gain 1 HP. HP currently full. ]|**

“So, how was your day Kiyoko-chan,” Tou-san asked as he lifted his bowl of miso soup up towards his lips and drank deeply, savoring the salty and tangy taste of the soup, the texture of the seaweed, the way the small cubes of tofu practically dissolved in his mouth.

“GENJI-KUN PUT HIS BALL INSIDE ME AND RUMI-CHAN!” exclaimed Kiyoko excitedly, as Tou-san spat out the hot soup in his mouth in a spray, choking on some soup that had found its way into his windpipe, pounding his chest with his right hand while coughing.

* * *

Later that night, after the three youngest children had been tucked into bed and the other four children were in their rooms, the adults found themselves inside Takeji’s home office. All five were seated around the fireplace, enjoying an assortment of beverages.

Hamasaki Kaori and Kanemoto Masago were having some warm sake, Amano Morimasa was drinking some hot green tea, Kanemoto Sayuri was drinking some warm water while Amano Takeji was having chilled sake.

“So, it’s done. The other two families have agreed to pay our asking price. They have already paid 20% and will pay the remainder in instalments every six months. That’s four payments of 15% each, with the fifth and final payment being 20%. This means that we will only be fully compensated two and a half years from now”, Takeji informed his family.

“I presume that we are transferring the various businesses over to them in stages according to the payment schedule? After all, it would be foolish to transfer everything over when they have yet to pay us in full,” Morimasa enquired of his son, taking a sip of his hot green tea.

“Of course, Tou-san. And any profits made while our businesses are awaiting transfer still belong to us. Think of it as the sale of several small businesses instead of one large sale, as each business has its own individual sales contract”, replied Takeji, secretly rather proud of his business negotiating skills.

“Why can’t they just pay us all at once? Why do we have to wait two and half years?” asked Sayuri, the warm water in her cup growing colder despite her proximity to the fireplace.

Chuckling to himself, Takeji replied his wife, “No one has that much cash just lying around, Sayuri-chan. After all, our businesses account for nearly half of all sales done in the Central District.”

“Yes, Takeji-san is right. Although the other two families have an extensive amount of businesses in the Inner and Outer Districts, they aren’t as profitable as our businesses in the Central District. After all, the nobles of the Capital rarely leave the comfort and luxury of the Central District”, Morimasa explained to his daughter-in-law while observing the steam rising from his cup of hot green tea.

“Oh, I see. I didn’t realize that our family business was actually worth that much”, Sayuri replied, gaining a new level of respect for the Amano family.

Once again chuckling to himself, Takeji said, “Although we’ve sold them our businesses in the Capital, we aren’t selling our most profitable business: our paper manufacturing company. After all, we do make the best quality paper among all the Five Great Shinobi Nations. I’ve negotiated a long-term deal with the other two families where they will continue to buy paper exclusively from us for the next decade. The only concession being that the price has been fixed so any fluctuations in the cost to manufacture the paper will be borne by us.”

“Takeji-san, you’re so good at these business things”, Sayuri said while smiling proudly at her husband.

“Of course”, Takeji proudly replied, his ego inflating at his wife’s praise.

“If we are to make a fresh start elsewhere, you should have sold the paper company because while it isn't located in the Capital, it still leaves us with ties to the other two families and as such, the Murakumo Syndicate”, Morimasa noted.

“I… I hadn’t considered that”, Takeji replied, his ego deflating at his father’s comment.

“I’m actually rather surprised that we only needed to lower our initial asking price by 5%, I expected them to negotiate us lower”, Morimasa mused out loud, still staring intently at the steam rising from his cup.

“Yes, that was unexpectedly a pleasant surprise. Hmm, are you thinking that they… would…”, Takeji hesitantly asked his father.

“Unfortunately, yes. With the other two families now in bed with the Murakumo Syndicate, albeit indirectly through Gato, we cannot discount the possibility that they might resort to such shameful acts”, Morimasa replied his son while sighing and shaking his head, emptying his cup then placing his empty cup on the table in front of him.

“What are you referring to Morimasa-san?” Kaori enquired as she reached out and refilled her husband’s cup with more hot green tea.

“They’re referring to the two families, possibly through Gato’s influence, using the Murakumo Syndicate or other yakuza to cause us harm, possibly through kidnapping in order to force us to hand over the rest of the businesses without paying the full price. That or outright just killing all of us and claiming the Amano businesses for themselves”, Masago stated while pouring more warm sake into Kaori’s empty sake cup.

“Yes, after all it would be considerably cheaper to hire yakuza to do such things than pay the remainder of the sale price”, admitted Takeji while furrowing his brows as he considered the likelihood of this possibility.

“But, that’s so… despicable!” Sayuri said, worry now filling her heart as she thought about her children and The Incident with little Genji-kun.

“Won’t be the first time someone has resorted to such… _things_”, Morimasa said, practically spitting out the last word as if it disgusted him.

“Unfortunately, greed is a powerful motivator. But to think the other two families… I mean, Ojii-san was the one who brought them into the business group in the first place”, Takeji sadly said, his mind already considering the possible outcomes of this potential betrayal.

“Yes, Tou-san did indeed invite them into the business group. Those two families only had two stores each compared to our eight when Tou-san first formed the business group”, Morimasa said as he fondly recalled memories of his childhood.

“Well, they haven’t actually gone down that dark path yet, right?” Kaori asked the room.

“No, they haven’t. But it is a possibility. However sad it is for me to admit, I think Sadakuno-san would gladly agree to such _things_ if Gato proposed them”, Takeji sadly replied his mother, thinking back on the more than thirty-year friendship that he had with his childhood friend.

“That greedy, selfish, cheating bastard!” exclaimed Sayuri angrily, the room temperature water threatening to spill over the edges of her cup.

“I suggest we hope for the best but prepare for the worst”, Masago suggested.

“Hmmm, should I widen the perimeter of the detection seals? Could buy us more time in the event of a large-scale attack on the estate, or give us more warning should intruders attempt to gain entry into the estate to kidnap one of the little ones”, Kaori thought out loud.

“We should have a safe room built and place as many seals as possible to ensure the safety of its occupants, we could place the kids in there if the estate ever came under attack”, Sayuri suggested.

“Sayuri-chan, I don’t actually know that many seals. Detection seals are my specialty, which includes the location seal you had me make for Genji-kun. Other seals such as the one that removed all friction on the toboggan are one of the rare few that I know of outside my specialty”, Kaori sadly replied her daughter-in-law.

Putting an arm around his wife, Morimasa replied “Yes, her education on sealing techniques came to an abrupt end when… you know.”

“Sorry Kaori-sama, I didn’t mean to bring up those memories”, Sayuri replied her mother-in-law in a quiet voice.

“It’s fine, Sayuri-chan. The genocide of Uzushiogakure was a long time ago”, Kaori replied with a heavy tone.

Placing a comforting hand on his mother’s arm, Takeji said “Don’t worry Kaa-san. We will figure out a way to fortify the estate and make it more secure. After all, sealing techniques are a force multiplier, while the sharp end of a blade is still the bulk of the force that we can bring to bear. And we have plenty of guards. Not to mention Tou-san.”

“Ha ha ha, it has been a few years since this old man has picked up an actual sword Takeji-san. Hmm, this situation is making me reconsider that decision”, Morimasa said, a hard look in his eyes as he considered the training regime that he would have to create and undergo in order to restore his fitness back to a level adequate enough to use his favorite sword techniques.

“Perhaps it is time for me to pass on my sword techniques to my older granddaughters”, Morimasa mused as he considered his advanced age.

“They would absolutely love you for that, especially Misaki-chan and Sakamae-chan”, Sayuri said while thinking of the first and second-best sword users among her children.

After a pause, Morimasa said, “It’s also about time the older four got their own proper swords. They require time to get used to the weight of the blade after all.”

“I’ll also have training swords made for Rumi-chan, Kiyoko-chan and Genji-kun”, Takeji added.

“I understand getting Rumi-chan a training sword as she’s almost four, but isn’t Kiyoko-chan too young? And Genji-kun hasn’t even turned one yet!” exclaimed Sayuri in surprise.

Looking at his wife, Takeji said, “Kiyoko-chan should be fine, just don’t teach her any techniques involving chakra as her chakra network isn’t fully developed yet. Also, you can probably start teaching Rumi-chan the basic katas of the Soft Palm Style, once again avoiding any techniques involving chakra, just stance and footwork, all that basic stuff.”

Considering his next words carefully, Takeji took a deep breath then said, “As for Genji-kun? He’s a lot stronger than he looks Sayuri-chan. How many ten-month-old babies do you know of that can throw a toy block across the playroom hard enough to make a small dent in the wood panels of the wall? I’m quite certain that our son is stronger than both Rumi-chan and Kiyoko-chan combined.”

“What?” Sayuri replied in confusion to her husband’s revelation.

“Oh yes, our little Genji-kun loves throwing those toy blocks ever since he first laid eyes on them. However, after the urm, incident, he has somehow gained an enormous amount of strength. The day before The Incident, his blocks would only travel about six feet, just enough to reach the center of the room. The day after The Incident, he was throwing blocks at the wall with the strength of someone ten years older than him”, Morimasa said as he mentioned his observations of his grandson.

“What?” Sayuri replied once again, failing to wrap her head around the idea of her ten-month-old baby boy throwing blocks as hard as a ten-year-old could. He still looked the same after all, his arms weren’t the size of a ten-year-old’s.

“I didn’t believe it when Tou-san first informed me, but seeing the multitude of dents in the wood paneling on the wall of the playroom, the evidence is plain to see Sayuri-chan. Our son has inexplicably gained a lot of strength from The Incident”, Takeji said while gently placing his arm around Sayuri's waist, pulling her closer to him. "If I didn't give him that red ball, it was only a matter of time before those dents would result in a hole appearing in the wall", Takeji said with a serious tone.

“But… how?” Sayuri asked her husband while staring into his eyes.

Maintaining eye contact with his wife, worry clearly evident within those large dark brown eyes of hers, Takeji said, “I don’t know. But maybe we should allow him to bring us to whatever place this is so we can find out for ourselves. He did offer to bring us there after we asked him where he had disappeared to for an entire day.”

“He came back covered in blood Takeji-san! And he said it was rabbit blood too! What kind of psycho dips a baby in a cauldron of rabbit blood after kidnapping him for a day! And now you tell me that psycho magically gave our baby strength? Why would we allow him to go back? Ever?” Sayuri said as she attempted to convince her husband, fearing for the safety of her son.

“He returned unharmed Sayuri-chan. Not a single scratch on him, he was perfectly fine from a health point of view too. And no, I don’t think he was dipped in rabbit blood as there were multiple layers of dried blood on him, some older than the others. It was as if blood was applied to him in layers over time”, Takeji replied his wife.

“That’s even worse Takeji-san! That psycho dipped our baby in a cauldron of rabbit blood multiple times throughout the day! Was it for some sick ritual or something? And he even gave Genji-kun a way to return there! There’s no way I’m allowing him to go back!” Sayuri firmly said.

“There is another possibility though”, Kaori said.

“What possibility Kaa-san?” asked Takeji.

“That Genji-kun has somehow gained the ability to teleport, perhaps it’s a special ability manifested from his Uzumaki blood”, Kaori replied her son.

“As far as I know, Uzumaki blood grants longevity of life and sometimes an increased healing rate, not teleportation abilities”, Morimasa said to his wife.

“I myself am only half Uzumaki on my mother’s side. Perhaps due to it being mixed with whatever hidden special properties present within Amano and Kanemoto blood resulted in this”, Kaori speculated.

“If that were true, our girls would be teleporting all over the place like Konoha’s Yellow Flash. Unless you’re suggesting that Genji-kun has this ability because he’s male”, Sayuri said in her mother-in-law’s direction.

“He's my grandson after all!” Morimasa exclaimed proudly.

“We don’t know that Morimasa-san”, Kaori said to her husband, before replying her daughter-in-law, “All we know is that Genji-kun somehow has the ability to travel to whatever place this is, and has offered to bring us along with him”.

“I suggest we accept Genji-kun’s offer once I have brought my fitness levels up to scratch, the older children have gotten used to their new swords, and the younger children have learnt the basics of the sword”, Morimasa proposed.

“I agree. We should go with him fully armed and prepared for anything. If there is indeed some psycho waiting for us, I promise to personally kill him if his explanation for his actions does not sufficiently satisfy you Sayuri-chan”, Takeji said while still holding his wife close, knowing that she liked close physical contact as it made her feel safe.

“Oh no, I’ll kill him myself if that were the case”, Sayuri said while smiling dangerously.

“Ok. It’s decided then. To wrap up tonight's discussion: we reinforce the estate against attack or infiltration, give our older children proper swords, give our younger children training swords and inform Genji-kun that we will go to whatever place this is together as a family. Did I miss anything?” Takeji asked the room.

“No, you have summed up tonight’s discussion in a concise manner Takeji-san”, Masago said to her son-in-law, finishing her cup of room temperature sake.

Waiting till the elders had left and after collecting the various cups, empty sake flasks, pot of green tea and jug of water, Takeji and Sayuri then made their way towards the kitchen to deposit the items in the sink for the servants to wash in the morning.

“So, the business has been sold. It’s a new era for our family. You know what we should do? We should celebrate”, Takeji suggested to his wife after they had left the kitchen and were walking hand-in-hand along the hallway towards the master bedroom.

“Celebrate how?” Sayuri asked her husband beside her.

“_You know how_”, Takeji replied in a lowered voice while giving his wife an eyebrow waggle.

“Nope”, Sayuri said as she laughed, running ahead of her husband towards their room.

“Sayuri-channn”, Takeji said as he ran after his wife.


	12. Chapter 12

**~~ 2 Months Later ~~**

Yawning as I woke up, I groggily rubbed the sleep from my eyes. My dreams had been filled with cherry blossom trees, vestiges of a memory from a month ago when our family decided to travel half a day away to a small town in order to view the beautiful trees. I had dreamt of running through a row of pink cherry blossom trees in full bloom while chasing white rabbits, laughing maniacally the entire time.

**|[ You have slept in a bed for 11 hours. All HP and CP restored. ]|**

**|[ Happy Birthday! You are now 1 years old. +1 to all stats. ]|**

_‘Already? Time sure does fly. Thanks Gamer System! Also, yay free stats. Status!’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 13**

**Title: Best Brother Ever**

**HP: 272**

**CP: 448**

**STR: 16 (+1)**

**AGI: 16**

**VIT: 16**

**INT: 28**

**WIS: 28**

**Points: 0**

**Experience: 23.06% to next level**

_‘I had gained two free Intelligence stats when I learnt the names of Naoko and Masago-obaasan, but other than that, these are my first stat gains since The Incident. Hey wait a minute, what happened to the (1) beside my title?’_

**|[ You have no other titles. ]|**

_‘What? Am I no longer the heir? Is it because of The Incident? Ah well, Naoko seems pretty smart anyway, the family business will do fine without me.’_

Looking around, I realized that I was in my rocking cradle in my parent’s bedroom.

_‘Oh shit, not again!’_

As I was about to prepare myself for another long day of fighting, the sliding door to the bedroom opened, revealing a smiling Kaa-san.

“Happy Birthday Genji-kun!” Kaa-san said as she picked me up, a bundle of clothing in her arms, “You needed a new outfit for your birthday so your Tou-san had this specially delivered all the way from the Capital.”

Humming to herself while she dressed me in a long-sleeved red shirt with a white cherry blossom design on the front and a pair of black pants, Kaa-san then smiled at me and said, “You’re one years old Genji-kun! Do you know what that means?”

“Is it the same as Rumi’s birthday last week? Will there be cake again?” I replied her question with questions of my own.

“Yes Genji-kun, there will be cake”, Kaa-san said as she gave me a beaming smile and kissed my right cheek.

Wiping my right cheek against my right shoulder, I asked, “Can I have cake for breakfast?”

“You can have a bit of cake after your lunch Genji-kun. Now come on, breakfast is ready”, replied Kaa-san as she once again picked me up, carrying me out into the hallway and towards the kitchen.

“GENJI-KUN!” shouted Kiyoko from her seat at the table when she saw me.

“Happy birthday Genji-kun!” said various people at the table one after another as I happily smiled at everyone present. Placing me into my baby chair, Kaa-san then sat down beside me.

As everyone began eating their breakfast, Tou-san turned to me and asked, “So, what would you like to do today Genji-kun?”

_‘Would they let me enter the Battle Dungeon?’_

“Erm, can we go to the rabbit place?” I asked with a hopeful look on my face.

Kaa-san and Tou-san shared a look, before they turned towards Ojii-san.

“Hmm. Well, I suppose there’s no harm in going to take a look. What can we expect to find there Genji-kun?” Ojii-san mused as he stroked his grey beard.

“A lot of rabbits”, I replied with a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

“And what will these rabbits be doing?” Ojii-san further queried.

“Probably trying their best to kill us”, I replied once again with a serious tone of voice.

Kaa-san choked on her seaweed-wrapped onigiri while Tou-san patted her on the back, offering Kaa-san her own cup of plain water which she gladly accepted after coughing a few times.

“And why exactly will these rabbits be trying to kill us?” Ojii-san asked, his tone even and not a hint of a smile on his face.

_‘Well, this is going better than I expected. Ojii-san seems to be taking me seriously, that’s good.’_

“I don’t know, it’s just what they do. There’s also this really big rabbit that I’ve nicknamed the Boss Rabbit that appears once you kill all the smaller rabbits. Maybe they’re obeying his orders? I don’t actually know why they want to kill us Ojii-san, they just do”, I answered Ojii-san as earnestly as I could, after all honesty was the best policy.

“Sounds like we’ll be heading into the summons realm, that Boss Rabbit sounds like a summons to me. I think we can handle a few rabbits, don’t we?” Ojii-san said with a keen smile as he looked towards Tou-san and Kaa-san.

“Perhaps we can use this opportunity to discuss with this Boss Rabbit creature about why he decided to kidnap our Genji-kun then tried to kill him”, Kaa-san said with a cold voice.

“Before we go off on this, urm, birthday adventure, let’s finish our breakfast and Genji-kun can open his birthday present”, Tou-san said hesitantly while glancing at Kaa-san.

“Everyone is to be fully armed before we depart, is that understood?” Kaa-san said after a long pause, turning to look towards where my older siblings were seated.

“Yes, Kaa-san” replied Naoko, Misaki, Tsuki and Sakamae.

“Will this take long? I really want to get back to reading The Wealth of The Five Great Shinobi Nations”, Naoko asked.

“It took me an entire day to kill all the rabbits in order to return Naoko-neechan”, I replied my eldest sister.

“Why do we have to kill all the rabbits in order to return?” Tsuki asked as she looked at me.

“Otherwise we can’t leave that place Tsuki-neechan”, I answered.

“Bet I can kill more rabbits than you Misaki-chan”, Sakamae said.

“You wish!” Misaki replied her younger sister.

“I don’t think it’s a competition”, Tsuki said to her two sisters.

“Oh, I see. So, the faster we kill all the rabbits, the faster we get to return Genji-kun?”, Naoko asked as she looked at me.

“Yes, Naoko-neechan”, I replied.

“Misaki-chan, I think Sakamae-chan can kill more rabbits than you”, Naoko said as she goaded her sister with a grin.

“WHAT! We’ll see about that!” Misaki replied.

“Ha! Even Naoko-chan knows that I’m better”, Sakamae said, playfully sticking her tongue out at Misaki.

“Don’t encourage them Naoko-chan”, Tsuki groaned while rubbing her right temple with her right hand.

“What do you mean you killed all the rabbits Genji-kun? So, there won’t be anything in the summons realm when we arrive?” Tou-san asked while looking at me.

“Erm, actually every time I return the number of rabbits there doubles”, I replied.

“This is the strangest summoning realm that I have ever heard of”, Ojii-san said before drinking from his bowl of miso soup.

“Perhaps it is because we have not signed a summoning contract and as such, they treat us as trespassers upon their realm?” Kaori-obaasan asked.

_‘Summoning realm? Is that where all the rabbits in the Battle Dungeon come from? The Rabbit Summoning Realm?’_

“Perhaps”, Ojii-san replied.

Masago-obaasan then said, “I will remain here to look after Rumi-chan and Kiyoko-chan”.

“But I wantsch to go!” Kiyoko said with a mouth full of rice.

“I would like to go too, please”, Rumi added.

“Kiyoko-chan, don’t speak when there’s food in your mouth, it’s rude. And people would blame me for not teaching you proper table manners”, Kaa-san said as she verbally reprimanded my youngest sister.

“Yes, Kaa-san”, Kiyoko replied after she had swallowed her mouthful of rice.

“They have their training swords, plus we’ll all be going fully armed. It should be fine. Masago-chan and Kaori-chan should remain behind though”, Ojii-san said.

Nodding at her husband, Kaori-obaasan then said “Don’t let any harm befall my adorable grandchildren Morimasa-san, or I’ll get upset.”

_‘Is Morimasa Ojii-san’s name? Amano Morimasa?’_

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Nice.’_

“Don’t worry Kaori-chan. Plus, if negotiations with the Boss Rabbit does degrade into a fight, it would be nice to test my skills in combat once more, it has been awhile”, Ojii-san said to Kaori-obaasan.

“It’s settled then. Now, let us finish our breakfast and then Genji-kun can open his birthday present”, Tou-san said to everyone at the table.

“Erm, Tou-san, we need to bring food with us as there isn’t any food there”, I said, remembering this crucial detail about Battle Dungeons.

“And water too I’m guessing?” Tou-san asked.

“Erm, it wouldn’t hurt I suppose, but there is water there”, I replied.

“Oh, well then, Sayuri-chan please inform the servants to pack four onigiri’s and two flasks of water for each of us”, Tou-san said to Kaa-san.

“Ok, Takeji-san”, Kaa-san replied as she stood up and headed into the kitchen.

Half an hour later, we had finished eating our breakfast and were all currently seated on various couches and chairs around our spacious living room. Tou-san then handed me a small box and said with a loving smile, “Here you go Genji-kun, your birthday present from your family.”

“Thanks!” I exclaimed as I reached out and took the wrapped box from Tou-san.

_‘Oh boy, I wonder what it is. Legos? I hope it’s Legos!’_

Ripping open the wrapping paper like an uncultured savage, I was greeted by a plain brown box. Opening up the box, then tilting the box till the item inside fell out into my right palm, I saw that it was a small gold-colored pocket watch with a gold chain attached.

“It’s a pocket watch Genji-kun. I’ll teach you how to tell time when we get back”, Tou-san proudly said.

“Ok, Tou-san”, I smiled and nodded.

_‘Can’t let my family know that I already know how to tell time, it would freak them out!’_

“I think Genji-kun already knows how to tell time, he glances at the clock hanging on the playroom wall all the time”, Rumi said.

_‘Shit! Rumi, you’re such an observant tattletale! Arghh, what do I say?’_

“What!? You taught yourself how to tell time?” Tou-san exclaimed in surprise.

“Ha ha ha, he’s my grandson alright”, Ojii-san said.

“Erm, am I in trouble?” I asked meekly.

“My little Genji-kun is a genius!” Ojii-san exclaimed as he laughed.

“You’re not in trouble Genji-kun, I was just surprised that’s all”, Tou-san said.

Kaa-san then picked me up and kissed me on the left cheek, saying “I’m so proud of you Genji-kun!”

Wiping my left cheek against my left shoulder, I replied, “Thanks, Kaa-san.”

“But don’t bring your birthday present to the summons realm Genji-kun, I’ll put it on the table next to your rocking cradle in the bedroom ok?” Kaa-san said.

_‘I guess my family refers to the Battle Dungeon as the summons realm. Yeah sure, why not.’_

“Ok, Kaa-san”, I replied.

“Ok everyone, let’s prepare. Girls, go to the dojo and put on your full armor please”, Kaa-san instructed.

_‘There’s armor in the dojo? Is it hidden somewhere?’_

“Ugh, do we have to? It’s so heavy”, Misaki complained.

“Yeah Kaa-san. It’s just rabbits. Do we really have to wear the armor?” Sakamae added.

“Not everyone can afford to get armor at such a young age, you girls should learn to appreciate how good you have things. After all, I only got my armor when I was 18-years-old”, Kaa-san said in tone that meant my sisters didn’t have a choice.

“Why did you only get your armor when you turned 18-years-old Kaa-san?” Tsuki asked.

“Because armor is expensive and you girls haven’t finished growing yet. Good thing our family is comfortable when it comes to money”, Kaa-san explained.

_‘Hah! Comfortable. Only rich folks say that! Wonder when I’ll get my armor?’_

“Alright, let’s go Kaori-chan. I need you to help me put my armor on”, Ojii-san said in a calm voice.

“Is that excitement that I see in your eyes? You naughty old man, don’t go picking fights you hear me. Try talking to the Boss Rabbit first”, Kaori-obaasan said to Ojii-san.

“Of course”, Ojii-san replied while smirking.

“And where should we meet when we’re ready? Outside the front door? Won’t that freak out the guards?” Tsuki asked.

_‘The rabbits will be outside so we definitely shouldn’t go into the Battle Dungeon while we’re outside.’_

“The playroom. We should meet back in the playroom”, I said.

“Ok, sounds good”, Tou-san affirmed.

“Come Rumi-chan, Kiyoko-chan and Genji-kun. I’ll help you put on your armor”, Kaa-san said, leading us towards the playroom where three brown boxes awaited us on the floor.

_‘I have armor of my own? BEST BIRTHDAY EVER! I totally love Japan!’_

As it turns out, the armor that Kaa-san helped the three of us put on looked really similar to what kendo practitioners wore when they sparred, including the face mask with the horizontal metal bars and a single metal bar down the middle.

_‘My family is definitely rich, I mean who else would buy a 1-year-old a full set of kendo armor? I’ll grow out of it in less than a year! Oh man, I love being born to a rich family.’_

“The three of you look so cute!” Kaa-san exclaimed as she looked at us, “I need to take a picture!” Kaa-san exclaimed before she ran out of the playroom.

Kaa-san soon returned, camera in hand and said, “Ok you three, remove your helmets please, ok, now just hold them under your arm, yes like that, ok yes, just hold that position and smile! Genji, smile!”

After clicking the camera button a few times, Kaa-san then said, “Ok, wait here while I go help your Tou-san put his armor on”, giving the three of us a kiss on the cheek before leaving, closing the sliding door behind her.

Wiping my cheek against my shoulder, I then turned towards Rumi and Kiyoko.

“There is going to be a lot of blood. Are you two sure about this? We are going to have to kill rabbits, a lot of rabbits, like two thousand”, I asked my two sisters.

“Yes”, Kiyoko said in a serious voice, scrunching up her nose in an attempt to look fierce but ending up looking even cuter than usual.

“We should be fine, we have our older sisters with us after all. And I get to practice my Soft Palm Style too”, Rumi replied.

“Oh yeah, about that. Where is your scroll? The new one I mean”, I asked.

“Right there, on the bookshelf, right beside the previous scroll”, Rumi replied as she pointed at the bookshelf.

“Ah! Ok, that’s good. I’ll help you and Kiyoko to learn the Soft Palm Style once we’re inside”, I stated.

“What do you mean?” Rumi asked.

“You’ll see”, I said with a big grin on my face.

“Don’t worry Genji-kun, I’ll protect you from the evil rabbits”, Kiyoko bravely announced as she gripped her wooden training sword in a two-handed grip.

“Pretty sure I’ll be the one doing the protecting. After all, it’s part of my job”, I said.

“What job?” Rumi questioned.

“YOU HAVE A JOB?” shouted Kiyoko.

“The job of being your brother, of course”, I replied with a smile.

“Your sense of humor is just like Tou-san’s”, Rumi replied while raising her right eyebrow as she looked at me.

“I WANT A JOB TOO!” Kiyoko shouted.

“He doesn’t have a job Kiyoko. He’s making a joke”, Rumi said.

“Oh”, Kiyoko said in a disappointed voice.

The sliding door to the playroom slid open and I got a fright as in walked three very scary looking figures in full samurai armor, mask and all. Then I calmed down as four smaller and definitely less scary looking samurais walked in, followed by my two obaa-sans.

_‘Oh my God! I’ve been born into a samurai family! This… is… AWESOME!’_

One of the samurai’s, the scariest looking one in the black and gold armor, reached up and removed his face mask, revealing himself to be Ojii-san.

“The three of you look so cute! We should take a picture!” Ojii-san exclaimed.

“I’ve already taken a picture of the three of them”, Kaa-san said while smiling.

“Oh, in that case we should take a family picture. Kaori-chan, please have Motoshige-san take a family photo”, Ojii-san said to Kaori-obaasan.

“I’ll go call him over”, Kaori-obaasan replied, walking out of the playroom.

“Where should we stand?” Tou-san’s voice came from the samurai in the black and blue armor.

“Motoshige-san can’t face the window as the sunlight would make us all appear to be dark in the photo. I suggest we stand over there and let Motoshige-san have his back facing the window instead”, Kaa-san’s voice came from behind the mask of the samurai in the black and red armor.

“Agreed”, Ojii-san said.

“Alright, everyone please remove your masks. Rumi-chan, Kiyoko-chan and Genji-kun take a knee up front, hold your helmets under your arms. Naoko-chan, Misaki-chan, Tsuki-chan and Sakamae-chan, hold your masks and stand behind the three little ones. And the five of us adults will stand at the back”, Kaa-san instructed as she removed her own samurai mask.

“I am here Morimasa-sama. Kaori-sama informed me that you wished for a family photo to be taken?” Motoshige asked from the doorway, one knee on the ground.

Ojii-san gestured with his hands to proceed as Kaori-obaasan went to stand beside Ojii-san.

“It would be my honor, Morimasa-sama”, Motoshige replied as he got into position near the window and adjusted the camera angle, shifting sideways then forwards till he was satisfied.

“I am taking the photo… Now! And one more! Ok… Now!” Motoshige said as he clicked the button on the camera.

_‘Why does he say ‘now’ instead of something like ‘cheese’ as he takes the photo? Is this a Japan thing?’_

“Dismissed”, Ojii-san said.

“By your leave, Morimasa-sama”, Motoshige said, taking a knee and bowing his head before exiting the playroom.

_‘What’s with all the brown-nosing? This Motoshige guy is so weird.’_

“Ok everyone, check your equipment. Everyone got their four onigiri’s and two flasks of water? Everyone got all three of their swords? Katana, wakizashi and tanto?” Kaa-san asked the group.

“I only have one sword Kaa-san”, Kiyoko replied, holding up her wooden training sword towards Kaa-san.

“Not you sweetie, I meant your older sisters”, Kaa-san said as she smiled gently at Kiyoko.

“Oh, ok”, Kiyoko said as she lowered her sword.

“For the three of you, I have all your onigiri’s and flasks of water, so just come to me if you need it ok?” Kaa-san said in the direction of Rumi, Kiyoko and I.

“Yes, Kaa-san”, the three of us replied simultaneously.

“Everyone ready?” Tou-san asked the group, receiving nods and grunts.

“Ok, put your masks back on, be prepared for anything. And Ojii-san will be the one speaking to the Boss Rabbit so don’t interfere in the conversation please, Sakamae-chan I’m looking at you”, Tou-san said.

“Yes, Tou-san”, Sakamae’s voice emanated from the samurai in the dark red armor.

_‘Oh! I get it! The dark red samurai is Sakamae, so the one in red must be Tsuki, the one in blue is Misaki, which means by process of elimination the dark blue one is Naoko! Why aren’t Rumi, Kiyoko and I color coordinated? We’re all in black. Aww man, can’t wait to get my own samurai armor.’_

“Don’t let my cute grandchildren get injured Morimasa-san. I’m trusting you with this. Don’t let me down”, Kaori-obaasan said.

“I would never let you down Kaori-chan”, Morimasa-obaasan said, his voice a bit muffled by the mask.

As the rest of my family affixed their black masks and my two obaa-sans exited the playroom, closing the sliding door behind them, I realized that I didn’t actually know how to get everyone to the Battle Dungeon.

_‘Gamer System! How do I bring everyone into the Battle Dungeon? Do we all have to hold hands and chant or something?’_

**|[ Do you wish to enter Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits with the following people: Amano Morimasa, Amano Takeji, Kanemoto Sayuri, Amano Naoko, Amano Misaki, Amano Tsuki, Amano Sakamae, Amano Rumi and Amano Kiyoko? ]|**

“Is everyone ready?” I asked my family, receiving nods and grunts.

_‘Yes! Bring us in Gamer System!’_

**|[ You have entered Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits. ]|**

The first thing I noticed was the lack of sounds from our surroundings. No cicadas outside the window, no sounds of life coming from the house, nothing. Complete silence. The other members of my family noticed it too because some of their hands instantly went towards their sword grips as they looked around in confusion.

“What happened?” Tou-san asked in a low voice.

“Why is it so quiet?” Misaki asked in a whisper.

“Are we there yet?” Kiyoko whispered.

“Yes, we’re already here. Remain quiet, we are likely surrounded on all sides”, I informed my family in a low voice, making my way as quietly as possible towards the bookshelf.

“We’re still inside the playroom Genji-kun”, Tou-san whispered.

“This isn’t our house Tou-san. Everything here is merely a copy of its real-world counterpart. If you bring anything from here back to the real world, it would crumble into dust”, I stopped walking to turn around and explain in a whisper.

“A summoning realm that’s based on a copy of the real-world? I have never even heard of such things”, Ojii-san whispered to Tou-san.

“Neither have I”, Tou-san whispered back in reply.

I then retrieved Rumi’s scroll from the bookshelf and returned to where my family was standing. Everyone seemed to be on guard, my sisters were constantly looking around, and almost everyone had their hand on their katanas except for Ojii-san, who was touching the pillows. I squatted down and unrolled the scroll on the floor.

**|[ This scroll contains knowledge on Soft Palm Style: Dance of the Tiger Lily. Do you wish to learn it? ]|**

_‘Yes.’_

**|[ You have spent 10,000 EXP to perform this action. You have 934,700 EXP remaining. ]|**

**|[ You have learnt Soft Palm Style: Dance of the Tiger Lily. ]|**

_‘Whoa, didn’t the previous scroll cost half that amount of EXP? Does learning a new scroll every time double its cost?’_

**|[ Amount of EXP required is dependent on the complexity of the knowledge learnt. ]|**

_‘Right, that makes sense.’_

“What was that Genji-kun? The scroll, it turned into light and… flew towards your head?” Tou-san asked in a worried whisper.

“Oh, that was me absorbing the knowledge in the scroll. I can now transfer that knowledge. Who wants to have full understanding of the Soft Palm Style, both Fundamentals and the Dance of the Tiger Lily?” I explained in a whisper.

“Is that a joke? Learning those takes years”, Misaki said in a whisper.

“Ooh, I never actually mastered it, transfer it to me Genji-kun!” Sakamae said in an excited whisper.

“I should go first, just in case its dangerous”, Tou-san said to me in a serious whisper.

“Ok, Tou-san”, I replied.

_‘Err, Gamer System do I have to place my hand on Tou-san? Does it have to be skin on skin contact?’_

**|[ Do you wish to share Soft Palm Style: The Fundamentals and Soft Palm Style: Dance of the Tiger Lily with the following people: Amano Morimasa, Amano Takeji, Kanemoto Sayuri, Amano Naoko, Amano Misaki, Amano Tsuki, Amano Sakamae, Amano Rumi and Amano Kiyoko? ]|**

_‘Oh, well that’s easy. Yes! Share it.’_

**|[ You have spent 900,000 EXP to perform this action. You have 34,700 EXP remaining. ]|**

_‘WHAT!? Why does it cost so much EXP?’_

**|[ Knowledge is easier to learn than to share, the amount of EXP required reflects this. ]|**

_‘Oh. I see.’_

“How will you be doing the transfer, Genji-kun?” Tou-san asked.

“I already did it. I shared it with all nine of you”, I said.

“What?” Kaa-san whispered.

“Whoa!” Naoko whispered.

“Kaa-san! I know that thing that you’ve been trying to teach Rumi-chan!” Kiyoko said in an excited whisper.

“I have never even heard of a bloodline limit capable of this”, Ojii-san whispered to Tou-san.

“Neither have I”, whispered back Tou-san.

_‘Bloodline limit? Does Ojii-san watch Naruto?’_

“Let’s discuss later, we should focus on the potential enemies for now. Genji-kun did mention that we were likely surrounded”, Kaa-san whispered.

_‘The abilities of The Gamer have nothing to do with blood, it’s an extra-dimensional ability isn’t it?’_

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

_‘I knew it. Also, yay free stats!’_

“Someone quietly peek out the window please, I’m quite certain that the house is currently surrounded by rabbits”, I whispered to my family.

“I’ll go, everyone is to remain on full alert”, whispered back Tou-san as he crept forward towards the window and poked his head outside. Looking left then right, Tou-san then returned to our group.

“I didn’t see any rabbits Genji-kun”, Tou-san whispered.

_‘Battle Dungeon Status!’_

**|[ Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits. 0 / 2,000 killed. 2,000 enemies remaining. ]|**

“They are definitely around somewhere, Tou-san. All two thousand of them. We have to select a battlefield. Due to their large numbers I suggest fighting right here inside the main house, using the hallways and tight spaces to ensure that their numbers don’t overwhelm us”, I suggested in a whisper.

“Is that what you did previously Genji-kun? That was very clever of you. But there’s no need for that now. Come, let us go out the main entrance and fight out in the open. After all, we are samurai!” Ojii-san said in a half whisper.

_‘Has Ojii-san lost his mind? This is two thousand giant rabbits we’re talking about. Oh right, I didn’t tell them its giant rabbits.’_

“Erm Ojii-san, these aren’t normal rabbits. They are a larger variety, about this big”, I whispered as I displayed the rabbit’s approximate size from memory with my hands.

“Do they have swords or weapons of any kind?” Ojii-san asked.

I shook my head left and right.

“That means their size or their numbers don’t matter. At the end of the day they’re just rabbits. Come, you’ll see”, Ojii-san said as he started walking towards the sliding door of the playroom.

_‘Oh shit, this is such a bad idea. There’s freaking two thousand rabbits out there! Oh shit! I need to protect Rumi and Kiyoko from all those dangerous teeth! Shit, shit, shit! What is Ojii-san thinking? We’ll be overwhelmed through sheer numbers alone.’_

The family then followed Ojii-san towards the main entrance in a single-file line, Tou-san in the middle separating my four older sisters in front of him from the three of us younger ones, and Kaa-san bringing up the rear of the group.

Ojii-san pushed open the front door and we exited the main house while still in formation. I then mentally prepared myself for the long and arduous fight to come.

_‘Status!’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 13**

**Title: Best Brother Ever**

**HP: 272**

**CP: 464**

**STR: 16 (+1)**

**AGI: 16**

**VIT: 16**

**INT: 29**

**WIS: 29**

**Points: 0**

**Experience: 0.85% to next level**

_‘At a cost of 5 CP per second, I can use the Assisted Combat System for roughly 90 seconds. Alright, that should be enough to keep Rumi and Kiyoko safe for now. I just need to use ACS sparingly to kill the ones that get close to them.’_

As we gathered by the dirt road near the horse-shoe shaped building, my family started forming an outward-facing circle with the three of us younger siblings in the middle. Shortly after, I spotted some white fur by the fence next to the dirt road. The rabbit was looking right at us. Twitching its ears, it was suddenly joined by more and more rabbits. Soon, rabbits started appearing from every direction, though they maintained their distance by encircling our smaller circle.

Then Ojii-san took a step forward and got into a stance, his right leg in front of his left, bending his knees so that his torso was low to the ground and almost in a squatting position, his left hand on his katana sheath while his right hand rested on the grip of his katana.

_‘Isn’t that the stance that Kaa-san is always teaching my older sisters? Ojii-san’s is lower to the ground though.’_

One by one my Tou-san, Kaa-san and my four older sisters each took a step forward and took a stance, although Kaa-san and my sister’s stances looked different from Ojii-san and Tou-san as they merely bent their knees slightly but were otherwise standing at almost their full height.

Raising my wooden training sword in a reverse grip in my right hand, I then took the Soft Palm Style stance I had only recently learnt: Dance of the Tiger Lily. This was a more advanced technique that incorporated weapons into the Soft Palm Style. Turning my head to look at Kiyoko and Rumi, I saw them mimicking my stance to a tee, our backs to each other as we formed an outward-facing triangle within the circular formation.

As if receiving an invisible signal of some sort, the rabbits swarmed towards us from all sides simultaneously. As the mass of rabbits drew closer and closer, I mentally reviewed my battle plan.

_‘Kill every rabbit that enters the circle. Don’t let any bite Rumi or Kiyoko. The others can handle themselves. Ok, let’s do this!’_

Closer and closer the bunny horde approached. That’s when I heard a ferocious shout from Ojii-san.

“AMANO IAIDO: ROAR OF THE OCEAN!”

One moment there was a white cloud of rabbits threatening to swallow up Ojii-san, in the next moment there was an explosion of blood and rabbit pieces as Ojii-san stood up abruptly and his katana flickered around so fast that I could barely see it, only realizing where it was when sunlight briefly gleamed off his blade.

**|[ You have killed a Frenzied White Rabbit (x59). +2,950 EXP ]|**

_‘What…’_

Ojii-san stood his ground, his right arm swinging his katana around so fast I was worried that he would dislocate his shoulder, while his left hand was still on the katana sheath. However, I saw the explosion of red spreading throughout the rabbit swarm. That’s when I noticed that Ojii-san’s katana was emitting blue light of some kind. Light that seemed to be growing longer and longer, extending the red violence wider and deeper into the oncoming bunny horde.

**|[ You have killed a Frenzied White Rabbit (x283). +14,150 EXP ]|**

_‘Holy shit…’_, I thought to myself as I saw the total number of kills jump upwards in real-time on the popup box before my eyes, indicating the total number of rabbits that had been killed so far.

That’s when I heard Kaa-san and my four older sisters yell out concurrently, “KANEMOTO IAIDO: BLOOM OF SPRING FLOWERS!”

**|[ You have killed a Frenzied White Rabbit (x471). +23,550 EXP ]|**

_‘How…’_

“I may not have my Tou-san’s advanced techniques or my beloved wife’s skills but don’t you dare underestimate me! AMANO IAIDO: ROCK CUTTER!” I heard Tou-san say, watching him draw his sword out so quickly that one moment it was in its sheath and the next moment it was fully extended out in front of him, a thin blue line of light extending outwards from the tip of the sword about twenty or so feet.

**|[ You have killed a Frenzied White Rabbit (x535). +26,750 EXP ]|**

_‘Isn’t your enemy underestimating you a good thing?’_

However, unlike Ojii-san who followed up his opening slice with a frenzied attack, Tou-san proceeded to unsheathe his shorter wakizashi with his left hand and started attacking with both swords.

Turning my head to look at Kaa-san and my older sisters, I noticed that they too were swinging around both their katanas and their wakizashis, all of their swords coated in a blue light, but theirs only extended out about six feet in length compared to Ojii-san’s and Tou-san’s.

_‘What’s going on? What’s that blue light?’_

**|[ You have killed a Frenzied White Rabbit (x1,999). +99,950 EXP ]|**

Before I could figure out what was happening, all the rabbits were apparently dead. My jaw dropped open as I stared at the tally on the popup box that had finally stopped jumping upwards.

_‘What… How... It’s… It’s been less than a minute!’_

“Wow…”, Kiyoko muttered as she stared wide-eyed at her surroundings.

“Whoa…”, Rumi said as she looked around.

A loud growl caught everyone’s attention as the Boss Rabbit appeared seemingly out of thin air by the fence, only this one looked bigger than the one that I had fought. It was about the size of a SUV. As it bared its incisors at us, I realized that just a single tooth was larger than I was.

“Ahh, Boss Rabbit-san, you’re finally here. May I ask wh...” Ojii-san abruptly stopped speaking as the Boss Rabbit charged him at lightning speeds, its extreme swiftness belying its large size.

Fortunately, Ojii-san appeared to be faster. It only took Ojii-san two swings of his katana to convert the Boss Rabbit into four pieces, the blue light easily going through the Boss Rabbit like a lightsaber.

Unfortunately, cutting a giant rabbit into smaller pieces doesn’t stop its forward momentum and Ojii-san was hit by one of the pieces of Boss Rabbit, being crushed against the ground as the piece landed on top of him, sliding across the ground with Ojii-san beneath it. 

_‘SHIT!’_

**|[ You have killed a Frenzied White Rabbit Viscount. +6.25 Million EXP ]|**

**|[ You have leveled up. +5 Points ]|**

**|[ You gained White Rabbit Gloves, White Rabbit Cloak and White Rabbit Hat. Loot automatically stored in Inventory. ]|**

“TOU-SAN!” Tou-san yelled out, rushing over towards Ojii-san.

“The corpse will crumble into dust after one minute!” I shouted out as my family ran towards Ojii-san.

Tou-san started cutting off pieces of the Boss Rabbit lump and throwing it off to the side, while Kaa-san and my older sisters sheathed their swords and tried to pull the entire piece off Ojii-san.

“I think I may have broken something”, Ojii-san groaned out from under the piece of Boss Rabbit.

_‘Oh my God! Ojii-san is being crushed, how do I help? I’m too small! Is there another way to help? Think! Think Genji! Oh! Exit Battle Dungeon!’_

**|[ You have exited Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits. ]|**

The piece of Boss Rabbit on top of Ojii-san instantly vanished and my family rushed forward towards Ojii-san who was lying on his back.

“Don’t move him! Tou-san may have broken his neck!” Tou-san shouted out while he removed Ojii-san’s mask.

“I’m fine… Takeji-san”, Ojii-san wheezed out, “I just need… to catch… my breath…”

“This is all my fault! I’m sorry Ojii-san! I’m so sorry! Please don’t die Ojii-san!” I said in a voice wrecked with guilt.

“I’m not… that easy… to kill… Genji-kun. It’s not… your fault…”, Ojii-san struggled to say, a small smile on his lips.

As several guards approached our group together with Kaori-obaasan and Masago-obaasan, Kaa-san slowly removed Ojii-san’s helmet while Tou-san held his head steady. Naoko then arranged her four pieces of onigiri into a square below Ojii-san’s head, while Tou-san gently lowered his head onto the makeshift pillow.

“Oh no! What happened to Morimasa-san?” Kaori-obaasan said as she reached us.

“I’m fine… Kaori-chan. I may have… broken something… though”, Ojii-san said with a painful smile.

After Kaa-san had removed Ojii-san’s breastplate, Ojii-san winced in pain as Kaori-san placed a hand on his chest and felt around.

“Some of his ribs are cracked!” Kaori-obaasan exclaimed.

_‘Shit!’_

“Shit!” Tou-san said while he removed his mask and helmet, “What do we do?”

“We have to keep him from moving and injuring himself further, but we also need to get him back into the house”, Kaa-san said.

“I may have a seal that can immobilize a person, don’t move him till I get back”, Kaori-obaasan said before running towards the main house.

“I think… left leg… and… right arm… broken… can’t move…” Ojii-san slowly said.

_‘Shit!’_

“Okay, try not to move anymore Morimasa-sama, wait till Kaori-sama returns with the seal”, Kaa-san said gently.

“Is Ojii-san going to be ok”, Kiyoko asked me in a quiet voice as she hugged herself. The Three Musketeers were currently standing about four feet away from Ojii-san as the adults crouched around him.

“Kaori-obaasan said he cracked his ribs and Ojii-san himself said that his left leg and right arm are broken. I don’t think those are life-threatening wounds, so Ojii-san should be fine”, Rumi whispered while moving to put her arm around Kiyoko’s shoulder.

“This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have brought us into the Battle Dungeon at all”, I said quietly.

“It’s not your fault Genji-kun. Remember what Kaa-san tells our older sisters in the dojo? You cannot control everything that happens on the battlefield”, Rumi said as she put her other arm around my shoulder and pulled both Kiyoko and I closer for a three-way hug.

“If we were older and stronger, we could have helped”, Kiyoko said with watery eyes.

“No Kiyoko, if that huge chunk of meat had landed on any of our older sisters, they would likely be dead by now. That Boss Rabbit was just too big and too fast”, Rumi explained gently.

_‘Could I have defeated that Boss Rabbit? The popup said it was a Viscount, which is higher ranked than the previous Baron. Does that mean that the next one is going to be an Earl? If the trend continues, the next one is going to be the size of a bus!’_

“Then we just need to be fast enough to avoid a repeat of such things”, Kiyoko said.

“Yes, speed would have helped Ojii-san to dodge”, Rumi said.

_‘I got some loot from that Boss Rabbit, maybe it could help Ojii-san? Let’s see what they are. Inventory!’_

**INVENTORY**

**White Rabbit Hat (+3 Intelligence. Part of The White Rabbit Set.)**

**White Rabbit Cloak (+3 Vitality. Part of The White Rabbit Set.)**

**White Rabbit Gloves (+3 Strength. Part of The White Rabbit Set.)**

_‘Would Vitality help? Well, it can’t hurt. Let’s try.’_

Shifting the cloak into my right hand, I then walked over to where Ojii-san was lying on the ground, tapping Kaa-san on the shoulder.

“Try to attached this to his shoulders Kaa-san. It doesn’t need to be below him, just attached it around his shoulders”, I said to Kaa-san who had turned to face me.

“Where did you get this from Genji-kun?” Kaa-san asked as she held the white-furred cloak up to get a better look at it.

“Every time the Boss Rabbit is killed it will give me three items and this is one of them. It might help Ojii-san though. Please attach it to his shoulders Kaa-san”, I said with a pleading look.

“Oh… urm… ok, Genji-kun, I’ll see what I can do”, Kaa-san said as she gave me a small smile.

Kaa-san then slowly put a portion of the upper part of the cloak under Ojii-san’s neck and stepped over to the other side, gently pulling half of the cloak over to the other side and attempted to attach the two ends over Ojii-san’s chest.

“What’s that?” Ojii-san asked.

“Its from Genji-kun. He thinks it’ll make you feel better”, Kaa-san quietly said.

“Oh. Thank you… Genji-kun”, Ojii-san said as he closed his eyes.

**|[ You have gifted the item White Rabbit Cloak to the following individual: Amano Morimasa. Item has now been bound to the recipient. ]|**

_‘Did it work? Or does having more vitality equate to an increase in the amount of maximum HP and not current HP? Sigh, was worth a try anyway.’_

“I have it! But this will only work for three minutes, so in that short period of time we need to transport Morimasa-san into the house and onto a proper bed that he can rest in”, Kaori-obaasan said as she returned from the main house, a piece of paper in her hand.

_‘Hmm. Usually in games, there would be healing potions or something, right? Gamer System, are there any healing items among the loot that drop in the Battle Dungeons?’_

**|[ There is a 14.29% chance for the item Grey Hippopotamus Shirt to drop as loot in Battle Dungeon: Rampaging Hippopotami. ]|**

_‘And what exactly does this grey hippo shirt do?’_

**|[ Grey Hippopotamus Shirt (+3 HP recovery every minute. Part of The Grey Hippopotamus Set.) ]|**

_‘Perfect! Wait, isn’t this dungeon the one after Battle Dungeon: Rabid Wolves? It is! Shit!’_

“Ok, Naoko-chan and Misaki-chan go prepare the bed in the guestroom for your Ojii-san. Report back once you’re done. Tsuki-chan and Sakamae-chan, ensure that the path to the guest room is free from any obstacles. Also report back once you’re done. Sayuri-chan, tell the chef to prepare some nutritional soup for Tou-san. Kaa-san, I think you should move to the main house for a while, to help take care of Tou-san. Masago-san, please take Rumi-chan, Kiyoko-chan and Genji-kun to the playroom”, Tou-san said in an authoritative voice.

_‘It’s suicidal for me to attempt even the wolf one, what more the hippo one! But this is Ojii-san we’re talking about! Oh wait, I don’t actually have to do it myself right? I have a family of samurai!’_

“Yes, Tou-san”, my four older sisters replied.

“Yes, Takeji-san”, Kaa-san said as she walked towards the main house at a brisk pace while holding her samurai helmet under one arm.

“I will, Takeji-san”, Kaori-obaasan said.

“Ok, Takeji-san. Come on Rumi-chan, Kiyoko-chan and Genji-kun, let’s go to the playroom”, Masago-obaasan said in a kind voice.

“You six, once the others have reported back, we will carry Tou-san into the guest room. You two will carry him by the legs, you two will carry him by the buttocks, you two will carry him by the shoulders, and I will carry his head”, Tou-san as he pointed to the various guards who were currently standing around with serious looks on their faces, receiving nods of agreement.

_‘Guess I’ll talk to Tou-san and Kaa-san later’_, I thought to myself as Masago-obaasan escorted The Three Musketeers to the playroom, Rumi in the middle holding Kiyoko’s hand as well as mine.

* * *

Later that night after everyone else had gone to sleep, Takeji found himself sitting at the dining table, a bottle of chilled sake in front of him. Sayuri was sitting beside him with a cup of warm water.

Twirling his sake cup around and around in his hands, Takeji then turned to his wife and said, “So, what do you think of Genji-kun’s idea? It sounds unbelievable, but after what we’ve seen today, I don’t think Genji-kun is exaggerating”.

“No, I don’t think he’s exaggerating. I believe Genji-kun was being honest when he explained what this ‘battle dungeon’ was to us. If he says it’s part of his abilities then it’s part of his abilities, as unbelievable as it sounds”, Sayuri replied before taking a sip of her warm water.

“An ability like this would be priceless. Just the ability to create a copy of this world and to travel around in it. He could literally infiltrate anywhere! And then on top of that, he gets stronger every time one of the ‘enemies’ in this copy-world is killed”, Takeji exclaimed while gesturing wildly with his hands, one of them still holding onto his sake cup.

“Is there sake in that cup? No? Ok. And that’s not accurate Takeji-san, what Genji-kun said was that he has to kill a certain number of these ‘enemies’ before he can get stronger, and every time he gets stronger that required number doubles”, Sayuri corrected her husband.

“And the cherry on top, the ‘boss’ of these dungeons drops three items of clothing when they die! He has the ability to create clothing Sayuri! Real, actual clothing! Out of thin air apparently! If I hadn’t witnessed what we saw today with our own eyes, I would think that this sounds absolutely insane!” Takeji continued.

“You think that’s the insane part? I would think that the insane part would be that these are apparently magical clothing. Magical clothing that’s supposedly able to heal your Tou-san”, Sayuri said before taking another sip of her warm water.

“Ah yes, how could I forget. Our son has the ability to create magical clothing out of thin air!” Takeji said as he put down the sake cup, grabbing the sake flask and drinking directly from it.

“Takeji-san! That kind of uncultured behavior has no place in this house!” Sayuri admonished her husband.

“There are exceptions to every rule Sayuri-chan. For example, when we find out our son apparently has Kami-tier abilities!” Takeji said as he once again drank from the sake flask.

“Amano Takeji! I don’t care if our son is Kami himself, you will not behave in such a manner in this house! Have some self-respect!” Sayuri said, raising her voice a little bit.

“Sorry Sayuri-chan. I… I… I just don’t… I don’t know what to do. I… I usually know what to do, but this time I don’t. Sorry Sayuri-chan, but I simply don’t know what to do with… all this”, Takeji said in a remorseful tone while gesturing around with one hand.

“First things first, we will hold a family meeting with all twelve of us. A family meeting where we will discuss Genji-kun’s abilities, after which we will deem this a family secret that is forbidden to be shared with outsiders, not even their future spouses. This ability of Genji-kun’s will make him a major target for enemy shinobi, possibly even Konoha shinobi, should they ever discover what he is capable of. The safety of our family comes first, above all else”, Sayuri said while looking her husband in the eyes.

“Next, we will go to this hippo world and we will kill as many of them as Genji-kun requires. Just because your Tou-san is currently in a stable condition does not mean that he will recover fully, after all he is seventy-one-years-old. If Genji-kun says that this magical shirt can fully heal him, then it will. He’s our son and he loves his Ojii-san very much”, Sayuri continued while still holding her husband’s gaze.

After a long moment of silence, Takeji finally replied, “You’re right Sayuri-chan. Ok. Let’s do that.”

“Good, now come, let’s go to bed. It is way past midnight”, Sayuri said as she took the sake flask from her husband’s hand and emptied it into the sink. After all, he had drunk directly from the flask like a Land of Earth barbarian.

While walking back to their room, Takeji with an arm around his wife, he suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at Sayuri.

“Hey Sayuri-chan, this may be the sake talking hehe, but erm, do you think that should we move to Konoha? Ok, I know that look. No, I’m not _that_ drunk. Ok, maybe a little. But I mean, think about it. We’ve sold the family business, in two and half years we will have sooooo much money, and we do need to start doing business _somewhere_ right?” Takeji said with a big grin on his face, as if he had solved one of the mysteries of the universe.

“And being in Konoha would keep us safe from the Murakumo Syndicate, right? Boom! We kill two birds with one katana. And! And! And! Here’s the best part. We get Genji-kun to become a shinobi! You said he would be a target for shinobi right? What better way to keep him safe than to let him become a shinobi himself! Oh! But not just him, all our kids! If they want to that is. And with Genji-kun’s abilities, sooner or later he’ll become the Hokage! He’ll be sooooo powerful Sayuri-chan!” Takeji continued, getting more and more excited the longer he spoke.

Sayuri silently stared at her husband.

“That… is the _stupidest_ thing I have ever heard! We are a samurai family! Now you want our children to become shinobi? How much sake did you drink?” Sayuri scolded.

“Sigh. You’re right Sayuri-chan. You’re right.”

“Of course I am!”

“We should discuss this tomorrow, when I’m sober and can oooh your hands are sooo smoooth Sayuri-chan.”

“Amano Takeji! Behave yourself! This is neither the time nor the place for such matters. We are in the hallway right now! Also, you’re drunk.”

“But Sayuri-channn!”

“No buts!”

“Sigh. You’re right Sayuri-chan. You’re right. Let’s go to sleep.”

“Ok.”

“Hokage Sayuri-chan! Hokage!”

“Amano Takeji!”

“Fiiine.”


	13. Chapter 13

**~~ The Next Day ~~**

_‘I wonder whether Tou-san and Kaa-san have decided on the hippo shirt yet’_, I thought to myself while my eyes were still closed.

**|[ You have slept in a bed for 11 hours. All HP and CP restored. ]|**

_‘Oh right, I leveled up yesterday, should allocate my stats. Status!’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 14**

**Title: Best Brother Ever (1)**

**HP: 272**

**CP: 464**

**STR: 16 (+1)**

**AGI: 16**

**VIT: 16**

**INT: 29**

**WIS: 29**

**Points: 5**

**Experience: 27.94% to next level**

_‘Hmm? The (1) symbol is back? Am I the heir again? Gamer System, what’s the other title?’_

**|[ Title: Apprentice Beast Slayer. You have been awarded this title due to having killed 3,000 creatures. +20% bonus EXP from killing creatures. ]|**

_‘Oh, nice. Alright, now where do I assign my stats to? Yesterday’s battle showed me just how far behind my family I am. My main asset right now is the Assisted Combat System, so I guess I should build on that. Let’s put 2 stats into Intelligence, 2 stats into Wisdom and the last one into Strength.’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 14**

**Title: Best Brother Ever (1)**

**HP: 288**

**CP: 496**

**STR: 17 (+1)**

**AGI: 16**

**VIT: 16**

**INT: 31**

**WIS: 31**

**Points: 0**

**Experience: 27.94% to next level**

_‘Hmm? My HP seems to have gone up from just that one extra stat in Strength. Nice! I thought only Vitality affected my HP. Oh no, that means I’ll drop some HP when I switch my titles. Aww man. Oh well.’_

Opening my eyes, I noticed that I had awaken in the playroom. Looking around, I saw an unfamiliar sight: all six of my sisters were present in the room.

_‘What’s going on? Why are they here? Aren’t they usually in their rooms at this time?’_

“Oh look, Genji-kun is awake!” Sakamae said.

“GENJI-KUN!” Kiyoko shouted from the floor to my right.

“Good morning sleepyhead”, Sakamae said with a grin.

“Uhh, good morning Rumi-chan and Kiyoko-chan. Good morning neechans. Erm, what are you guys doing in our playroom?” I asked in a questioning tone.

“For your information, this was _our_ playroom before you three came along”, Misaki said, placing both hands on her hips.

“That’s right! And what’s wrong with us hanging out in the playroom?” Sakamae said.

“We mostly spend our time in the dojo and our own rooms these days Misaki-chan and Sakamae-chan. You have to see it from their point of view: this is the first time that we’ve been in here without Kaa-san or Tou-san telling us to since these three have been born. To them, this is their playroom”, Tsuki explained to her two sisters who were the slash-first-ask-questions-later type.

“Oh… I see. Well little brother, to answer your question: we have something to ask you”, Misaki replied after considering Tsuki’s words for a moment.

“Yeah!” Sakamae added, the grin back on her face.

_‘Why do I feel like a mouse that’s being cornered by two big cats?’_

“Uhm, and what is it that you would like to ask me?” I asked nervously.

“Look at him! He’s so cute when he’s nervous!” Misaki said as she ruffled my hair with her right hand.

“Don’t worry Genji-kun. It’s not a difficult question”, Naoko said from her position on the floor. She was currently playing with Kiyoko by helping her stack her tower.

“That ability you displayed yesterday, the one where you somehow managed to transfer knowledge of the Soft Palm Style to all of us. Can you do it for other knowledges as well?” Sakamae excitedly asked.

“Yes Genji-kun. For example, this book”, Naoko said as she held up a thick green book in her hands towards me, “Do you think you can absorb the knowledge inside and transfer it?”

“I’m not sure. Uhm, can someone help me down from here first?” I asked.

“Genji-kun you’re so cute!” Misaki exclaimed as she carried me out of the rocking cradle and placed me on the floor next to Kiyoko, where I was promptly given a tight hug by my excited youngest sister.

“Good to see you too Kiyoko”, I said, receiving a giggle in response.

“Here you go Genji-kun”, Naoko said as she passed me the thick green book with the title The Wealth of The Five Great Shinobi Nations written in big fonts on its cover.

Opening up the book and flipping through its pages did not result in any popups appearing.

“Sorry Naoko-neechan, I can’t absorb this book. Which means that I can’t transfer its knowledge”, I said with an apologetic tone.

“Ahh, that’s ok Genji-kun. Was worth a try. Guess I just have to read through it like everyone else. While its topic is interesting, its written in a rather dry manner”, Naoko said.

“My turn! My turn!” Sakamae excitedly said.

“Sakamae-chan! Naoko-chan went first which means that I should go second!” Misaki complained.

“Misaki-chan has a point, we should go by eldest to youngest”, Tsuki said.

“What! Betrayed by my own twin? The horror!” Sakamae said in a clearly fake hurt voice while holding her hands to her heart as Tsuki rolled her eyes.

“Uhm Sakamae-neechan, are you and Tsuki-neechan twins?” I asked in disbelief.

“Of course we are!” Sakamae replied.

“Yes we are, Genji-kun”, Tsuki replied.

“But… the two of you don’t look the same”, I said while pointing at Sakamae then Tsuki then back again.

“You’re so cute Genji-kun!” Misaki said.

“We’re fraternal twins, Genji-kun. That means that we share the same birthday but don’t look the same”, Tsuki replied.

“Identical twins are the ones that share the same birthday as well as look the same”, Sakamae added.

“Oh, I see”, I said in reply to the impromptu biology lesson.

“Try this book Genji-kun”, Misaki said while handing me a thin red book with the title The Art Of Maintaining Your Blade.

“Let’s see”, I said as I flipped through its pages.

**|[ This book contains knowledge on The Art Of Maintaining Your Blade. Do you wish to learn it? ]|**

“Oh! Yes, I can absorb this!” I said in surprise.

“Do it! Do it!” Misaki said.

“Oh, urm Misaki-neechan, I’ll do it inside the Battle Dungeon. If I do it out here the original book will be destroyed. Plus, I can only transfer knowledge inside a Battle Dungeon, so I might as well do both while in there”, I explained.

“Is that so? Hmm, that’s interesting”, Naoko said as Kiyoko’s tower fell over.

“NAOKO-NEECHAN! WE CAN’T BUILD IT TOO HIGH!” Kiyoko shouted in frustration.

“That’s ok Kiyoko-chan, we’ll just try again”, Naoko said with a gentle smile.

“OK!” Kiyoko replied enthusiastically.

“So, Naoko’s book on economic theory doesn’t work but Misaki’s book on sword maintenance techniques does? Let’s try mine”, Tsuki said as she handed me a scroll.

Unfurling the scroll on the ground, I briefly glanced at its contents. There were no diagrams or pictures of any kind, just lines upon lines of words. No popup appeared.

“Nope, nothing Tsuki-neechan. What’s this scroll about anyway?” I asked.

“It’s supposedly from an ancient high-level martial arts sensei on the theories behind martial arts. That’s disappointing”, Tsuki said with a sigh.

“It’s my turn! Here Genji-kun, try this!” Sakamae exclaimed as she shoved a blue book into my hands.

Looking at its cover, its title said Violence Is Usually The Answer. Lifting an eyebrow at the title, I then began flipping through its pages. No popup appeared.

“I got nothing Sakamae-neechan. What’s this book about anyway?” I asked curiously.

“Oh, it’s about the nuances of intercountry peace negotiations”, Sakamae replied casually.

“Peace negotiations!?” I asked incredulously.

“Yeah, its really interesting. You should read it sometime”, Sakamae said.

“Uhh, that’s ok Sakamae-neechan, I’m good”, I replied.

“Ok, guess its my turn again. Unless Rumi-chan or Kiyoko-chan want their turns?” Naoko asked.

“Genji has already done two of my scrolls. Both of which he already shared with everyone. And Kiyoko-chan doesn’t like books”, Rumi said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Hey! It’s not that I don’t like books. Its that all the books that Kaa-san reads to me is so boring!” Kiyoko complained.

“I was like that too when I was your age Kiyoko-chan. But then I found books that I was interested in and now I read a lot”, Misaki said as she sat down next to Naoko and helped Kiyoko build a wall around her tower.

“Oh, ok. I don’t know what books I’ll like though. Any suggestions Misaki-neechan?” Kiyoko asked earnestly.

“Well, I like swords. So, I read a lot of books on swords and theories about swords, stuff like that. Don’t worry Kiyoko-chan, you’re only two-years-old, you have plenty of time”, Misaki said patiently.

“Misaki-neechan, I’m almost three-years-old!” Kiyoko said as she held up three fingers.

“But it’s not yet your birthday, which means that you’re still two”, Naoko said.

“Fine. But when I turn three, I want a book on swords, just in case”, Kiyoko replied as she crossed her arms.

“I’ll let Kaa-san know”, Naoko said with a smile before reaching out and placing a scroll in my hands, “Try this one Genji-kun.”

Unrolling the scroll on the ground, I once again briefly scanned its contents. Once again it was all words with no diagrams. And once again, there were no popups.

“Nothing again, Naoko-neechan”, I said to my eldest sister.

“Oh well, was worth a try”, Naoko said with a loud sigh.

“What was this scroll about?” I asked.

“Oh, just theories on how to properly manage a business”, Naoko replied.

“Sorry Naoko-neechan”, I said while patting her shoulder.

“It’s not your fault Genji-kun”, Naoko replied as she put a hand over my hand that was on her shoulder.

“Ok Genji-kun, try this one!” Misaki said eagerly.

Taking the brown book from her, I skipped looking at its cover and immediately opened it up to begin flipping through its pages. No popups appeared.

“Sorry Misaki-neechan, nothing this time”, I said.

“Awwww. That was on the theory of the importance of footwork for swordsmanship”, Misaki replied.

“Were there any techniques in there?” I questioned.

“No, it was just in regards to foot stances and which were more suitable for the different kinds of swords, stuff like that”, Misaki replied.

“I see. I think I’m beginning to understand this ability. It seems to only allow actual techniques to be absorbed, for example the Soft Palm Style or Blade Maintenance. However, it cannot absorb theories, even if those theories were discussions on techniques. It seems that it has to be a technique of some kind”, I summarized for my sisters.

“That makes sense in a way Genji-kun”, Rumi said.

“How so?” I asked.

“Because theories are just that, theories. They are one person’s view of how something works or an explanation of why something works. It may be right or partially right and remain that way until someone else comes up with a better theory. As such, theories are in a constant state of flux. On the other hand, techniques are unchanging. It is a way to do something, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s right or wrong, at the end of the day the technique still exists. Therefore, your ability allows you to share techniques but not theories”, Rumi explained.

“Uhm, ok. I kind of understand what you just said”, I replied while scratching my head.

“What Rumi said makes sense”, Naoko affirmed with a nod of her head, lifting up her palm towards Rumi.

“Thanks Naoko-neechan!” Rumi replied with a big smile as she high-fived her eldest sister.

“NOOOO!” Kiyoko shouted out as her tower fell once again.

“I think you should help me build the wall instead Kiyoko-chan”, Misaki said while laughing.

“OK!” Kiyoko enthusiastically replied while Naoko gathered up the wooden blocks from the fallen tower.

“Hmm, in that case… Let’s see… How about this one Genji-kun?” Tsuki said as she handed me a thin blue book.

“Your Tanto And You?” I said, reading the title out loud.

“Yes, it does have some theory but it also includes a quick-draw technique for the tanto”, Tsuki replied.

“Oh, ok. Let’s see”, as I flipped through its pages.

**|[ This book contains knowledge on Tanto: The Quick Draw. Do you wish to learn it? ]|**

“This one can be absorbed!” I exclaimed excitedly.

“Yes!” Tsuki replied equally as excited.

“Awwww, all my other stuff is just theories. I don’t have anything with a technique in it”, Sakamae said in a disappointed voice.

“Hmmm, well, since Misaki-neechan and Tsuki-neechan have books that can be absorbed, I think it’s only fair if Naoko-neechan and Sakamae-neechan get something else”, I said.

“Like what?” Naoko asked curiously.

“Yeah Genji-kun, what are you talking about?” Sakamae added.

“This!” I said as I raised both my hands and shifted the White Rabbit Hat (+3 Intelligence) into my left hand and the White Rabbit Gloves (+3 Strength) into my right hand from my Inventory.

“Whoa”, Kiyoko said, her voice full of awe.

“Is that how you did your magic trick Genji-kun? You were using your ability?” Rumi asked curiously.

“How did you do that Genji-kun!?” Naoko asked in shock.

“Where did those come from?” Tsuki asked.

“I want the hat! It looks so cute!” Misaki exclaimed.

“Isn’t that the same hat that Rumi-chan has?”, Sakamae asked.

“Uhm, to answer all your questions. Yes, this is part of my ability. I have a err, urm, storage space? Yeah that’s it, I have a storage space that I can access with my hands”, I said to all my sisters.

“That’s so cool! What can you store in there?” Sakamae asked.

“Things I can hold with my hands I guess?” I replied, unsure of the limits of Inventory myself.

“How big of an item can you store? Can you try storing away the bookshelf?” Naoko asked curiously.

“Oh, err, let me try”, I said as I stood up and walked towards the bookshelf. Placing my hand on it, I mentally tried to shift it into my Inventory. Nothing happened.

“Doesn’t seem to work”, I said with a shrug.

_‘Gamer System, what’s the size limit for Inventory?’_

**|[ Your inventory may store items that fit the following measurements – Height: 60 cm, Width: 60 cm, Length: 60 cm. ]|**

_‘Err, how many inches is 60 cm again?’_

**|[ 60 cm is approximately 23.62 inches. ]|**

_‘Ahh, I see. Slightly less than two feet then. Thanks Gamer System. Also, why are you using the metric system?’_

**|[ The metric system is based on a natural constant and is designed to make measurements and calculations easy to perform and understand. ]|**

_‘Those are fighting words, you take that back!’_

“Err Genji-kun? Hello?” Naoko said as she waved a hand in front of my face.

“Oh, sorry Naoko-neechan. Was just erm, figuring out the size limits for this ability. It’s about two feet in height, width and length”, I said.

“Aww Genji-kun is so cute! He measures things by the size of his feet!” Misaki squealed.

“Uhh, no Misaki-neechan. I meant feet, as in the twelve-inch variety?” I clarified.

“What’s ‘inch’ Genji-kun?” Rumi asked.

“We measure things using centimeters and meters Genji-kun, not the size of your feet”, Naoko said while giggling at me.

_‘Oh shit, forgot that I was in Japan. Argh. I’m going to have to relearn my measurements all over again. Ugh, what a pain in the ass.’_

“Oh, right. In that case its 60 cm in height, width and length”, I explained.

“And how many items can you store?” Tsuki questioned.

_‘What’s the limit on the number of items that I can store in my Inventory, Gamer System?’_

**|[ Your inventory is an extra-dimensional space and has no limits on the number of items stored. ]|**

_‘So theoretically, could I store the entirety of the water in the Atlantic Ocean in my Inventory?’_

**|[ Your inventory is an extra-dimensional space and has no limits on the number of items stored. ]|**

_‘Awesome!’_

“There’s no limits on the number of items Tsuki-neechan, only its size”, I clarified.

“Wow!” Tsuki exclaimed.

“That sounds like a cheating ability”, Misaki said with a smirk.

“Creating a copy-world sounds more like cheating. This is just bending the rules in comparison”, Naoko said with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Could you store an animal in there?” Rumi asked.

“Erm”, I replied.

_‘Gamer System, can I store an animal in my Inventory?’_

**|[ Your inventory is an extra-dimensional space and has no limits on the type of items stored. ]|**

_‘Oh, but how would the animal breathe? There’s no air in there, right?’_

**|[ Your inventory is an extra-dimensional space that does not possess the element of time. Items stored do not age. ]|**

_‘Since no time passes for that animal, it doesn’t even need to breathe! Interesting. If I store a hot bowl of miso soup in there, will it still be hot once I take it out?’_

**|[ Your inventory is an extra-dimensional space that does not possess the element of time. Items stored do not lose its heat as the element of time does not exist inside your inventory. ]|**

_‘Nice! Very nice. Food that doesn’t get cold or hot and stays fresh forever! I could become the neighborhood ice cream truck without the truck!’_

“Yes Rumi-chan, I can store an animal inside as long as it fits the size requirement. I can also store food forever and it will not lose its heat or anything, going to be very useful inside a Battle Dungeon”, I explained.

“What’s a Battle Dungeon?” Naoko asked.

“Oh, you guys call it the copy-world but it’s actually called a Battle Dungeon. The one I took everyone to yesterday was called Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits”, I clarified.

“And can you create different types of these, erm, Battle Dungeons?” Naoko asked.

“Yes, I currently have access to three. The first one is called Frenzied Rabbits, the second one is Rabid Wolves and the last one is Rampaging Hippopotami”, I stated.

“Have you been to them? I’m going to assume the other two contain giant wolves and giant hippos?” Naoko asked.

“I haven’t been to them. But those would probably be valid assumptions, yes”, I replied.

“More target practice! Anyways, Genji-kun, can I have the white hat you’re holding?” Misaki asked.

“Uhh, actually I was going to say that the hat was for Naoko-neechan and the gloves are for Sakamae-neechan before all that talk about my storage space, as they didn’t have any books or scrolls that were capable of being absorbed”, I replied sheepishly.

“Awww, that’s not fair. You’re going to share the knowledge from my book with them anyway!” Misaki said with a pout.

“It’s ok Misaki-neechan. These items come from the Boss Rabbit, so we just need to kill it again to get more”, I explained.

“Is this another part of your abilities?” Rumi asked.

“Yes Rumi-chan, it is”, I replied.

“So that’s where the hat came from”, Rumi said while nodding to herself.

“Let’s go kill it now!” Misaki said eagerly.

“We need to ask Tou-san and Kaa-san’s permission first Misaki-chan. Ojii-san did get badly injured yesterday after all”, Tsuki cautioned her older sister.

“Actually, I may have an idea that might help Ojii-san to recover. You see, one of the items that the Boss Hippo drops allows a person to fully recover his or her health. If my theory is correct, it can even close up cuts and mend bones, albeit slowly over a few minutes or even hours. I spoke to Tou-san and Kaa-san about this last night, they said they would discuss it then get back to me with their decision”, I said.

“Something that will help Ojii-san recover? Let’s go kill it now!” Misaki suggested energetically.

“Yeah! It’s just a giant hippo, Kaa-san would be able to kill it easily!” Sakamae exclaimed.

“Here you go Naoko-neechan”, I said as I passed Naoko the white-furred hat.

“Thanks, Genji-kun!” Naoko happily replied, immediately trying on the hat.

**|[ You have gifted the item White Rabbit Hat to the following individual: Amano Naoko. Item has now been bound to the recipient. ]|**

“And these are for you Sakamae-neechan”, I said as I handed the white-furred gloves over to Sakamae.

“Thanks, Genji-kun!” Sakamae said as she tried on the gloves.

**|[ You have gifted the item White Rabbit Gloves to the following individual: Amano Sakamae. Item has now been bound to the recipient. ]|**

“Oh, the hat is supposed to make you slightly more intelligent and the gloves make you slightly stronger. I don’t think the difference is noticeable as I gave Kiyoko the shoes but she doesn’t seem to be more agile or anything”, I explained.

“WHAT!?” was the collective response from all my sisters.

“These gloves make me stronger? But I don’t feel stronger”, Sakamae said.

“Uhhh Naoko-neechan, what does agile mean?” Kiyoko asked.

“It means you move quicker Kiyoko-chan”, Naoko explained.

“I don’t feel faster though”, Kiyoko said.

“It’s a very small effect. I’m assuming that the items from the Boss Wolf or the Boss Hippo give larger effects. Oh, one more thing, only the ones receiving the gifts the first time get the effects. If someone else wears it there’s no effect”, I said as I remembered the limitations of the items.

“I see”, Naoko said with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“We should go ask Kaa-san if we can redo the rabbit Battle Dungeon again today, working our way up to the wolf one over the next few days and do the hippo one to help Ojii-san by the end of the week”, Misaki suggested.

The next moment the sliding door to the playroom slid open, revealing Tou-san and Kaa-san who were smiling at us. Walking into the room, Tou-san then said, “It seems that Genji-kun has been explaining his abilities to you. That’s good, saves us some time. Ok everyone, have a seat please. I have something important to discuss with you all.”

As my sisters sat down on the pillows strewn about the floor, I shifted my body to face Tou-san as did the rest of my sisters.

“Alright. So, Genji-kun has informed all of you about the Battle Dungeon of his? And how about the hippo shirt that is supposed to help Ojii-san? Oh ok, that’s good. So, all these things that you have learnt about Genji-kun’s abilities are now deemed to be a family secret. This is a higher level of secret than even your Kaori-obaasan’s history, which means that you cannot tell anyone outside of the family about this. Not even your future husbands or wife in Genji-kun’s case. Is that understood?” Tou-san said to all of us with a serious expression.

_‘Kaori-obaasan’s history is a family secret?’_

“Why is this so Tou-san? Why so secretive?” Rumi asked.

“Because this ability will make Genji-kun a major target of shinobis from every country, possibly even our own. The ability to create a copy-world through his Battle Dungeon, which he can freely travel about and exit at will, allows him to infiltrate literally anywhere. To prevent this ability from being used against them, they will kill him. Until or unless Genji-kun is powerful enough to fight off every single shinobi from every single shinobi village, no one is to say a single word about Genji-kun’s abilities to anyone outside this family. Am I making myself clear?” Tou-san said with a serious tone of voice.

_‘Shinobis? Shinobi village? What?’_

“Err Tou-san, what do you mean by even our own, urm, shinobis will target me?” I asked curiously.

“Rather than risk your abilities falling into the hands of the enemy, they would rather kill you. After all, they are shinobi and not samurai like us. They do not fight with honor. Killing a child means nothing to them”, Tou-san explained.

“And what did you mean by shinobi village?” I questioned.

“We live in the Land of Fire Genji-kun, which means that our country’s shinobi village is Konoha. Most countries have a shinobi village. Don’t worry, when you are older we will teach you all of this in greater detail”, Tou-san assured.

_‘What? Land of Fire? Konoha? Isn’t this the background story of Naruto? Is Tou-san messing with me right now?’_

“Tou-san, I thought this was a serious discussion”, I said with an annoyed voice.

“What do you mean Genji-kun?” Kaa-san asked from behind Tou-san.

“Shinobis don’t exist in real-life Kaa-san”, I said as I placed both my hands on my hips.

Both my parents and my older siblings started laughing. Only Rumi and Kiyoko didn’t join in their laughter, Kiyoko looking slightly confused while Rumi had a neutral expression.

“Genji-kun is so cute!” Misaki exclaimed.

“It’s not his fault, he has never left the Amano estate and we haven’t explained to him how the world works yet”, Tou-san said.

Kaa-san walked over to where I was sitting and sat down behind me, picking me up and placing me on her left thigh. Then she picked up Kiyoko and placed her on the right thigh.

“Kiyoko-chan and Genji-kun, it’s about time that we told you a bit of our family’s history. A long time ago, both the Amano family and my Kanemoto family were samurais. Both our families served the leader of the Land of Fire, the Fire Daimyo. We fought both with and against shinobi on behalf of the Fire Daimyo. At that point in time the various samurais and shinobis fought on roughly equal footing baring a few exceptional shinobis who fought in a completely different league”, Kaa-san explained in her motherly tone.

_‘Is Kaa-san being serious right now? I understand Tou-san pulling a prank by telling me some bullshit story based on Naruto, but Kaa-san doesn’t do things like that. What’s going on?’_

“But then one day, a shinobi from the Senju shinobi clan by the name of Senju Hashirama appeared. He decided to unite the shinobi clans in the Land of Fire, establishing the first ever shinobi village. They called it Konohagakure, or Konoha for short. Because of this, the shinobis in other countries also banded together to form their own shinobi villages”, Kaa-san continued explaining.

“Due to these shinobi clans coming together, they shared their knowledge with each other and as a result the effectiveness of their shinobi techniques or jutsu increased greatly. Us samurais could not keep up with the sheer amount of power some of these jutsus had. After all, what use is a sword against a giant fireball or a giant rock? There are even some shinobis able to create great waves of water with nothing but their chakra”, Kaa-san said with a sigh.

_‘Chakra? The same type of chakra as my CP?’_

“As such, samurais faded in relevance as shinobis began dominating the battlefields. Some samurai families banded together to form their own samurai village in the Land of Iron. And others like the Amano family decided to become fishermen, farmers or businessmen. My Kanemoto family remained as samurais, and we continued to serve the Fire Daimyo”, Kaa-san explained.

“Due to that decision, my father was killed during the Second Shinobi World War when a shinobi attempted to assassinate the Fire Daimyo. My four brothers were similarly killed during the Third Shinobi World War protecting the Fire Daimyo”, Kaa-san said with a quiet voice.

_‘Kaa-san is being serious! She’s talking about her father and brothers with such sadness in her eyes! If she’s serious, and all this is real, then this means that…’_

“They made their decision to remain as samurai and now your Masago-obaasan and I are the last of the Kanemoto family. Remember this Kiyoko-chan and Genji-kun, your decisions don’t just affect you, it affects your entire family as well”, Kaa-san said in a serious tone of voice.

“Yes, Kaa-san”, Kiyoko and I replied.

“Although the Amano family are technically business-owners, we never stopped training with our swords. After all, this world is a dangerous place. There seems to be a Shinobi World War every ten to fifteen years as the Five Great Shinobi Countries vie for land and other resources. The Third Shinobi World War ended just four years ago”, Kaa-san continued.

“And only last year did Konoha, the shinobi village in our Land of Fire reach a peace agreement with Kumo, the shinobi village of the Land of Lightning, finally bringing an end to their own war. The world we live in is one filled with much violence, as such your Tou-san and I agreed to bring up all our children with knowledge on samurai sword techniques”, Kaa-san explained.

_‘Oh man! How did this happen? And I thought I was in Japan all this time! Shit!’_

“Knowing all this, do you now understand the level of danger you’ll be in if the various shinobi villages discover your abilities Genji-kun? This goes for all of you as well, Genji-kun’s life depends on all of you keeping this secret”, Kaa-san said as she looked at my sisters.

“Yes, Kaa-san”, all of my sisters replied.

“Yes, Kaa-san”, I said right after.

_‘Ok Genji, no point crying over spilt milk. What’s done is done. You’re in the world of Naruto now, deal with it. Existential crisis later. For now, figure out where am I in the timeline. First, I need to know when was the Kyuubi’s attack. But how do I ask about this? I’m not supposed to know anything about this world, I’m a baby after all!’_

“Good. Now, let’s talk about this hippo shirt that can help your Ojii-san fully recover”, Tou-san said.

“Oh, about that, I think it would be best if we redid the rabbit dungeon a few times to get used to fighting that Boss Rabbit, work our way up to the wolf dungeon throughout the week then do the hippo dungeon at the end of the week”, Misaki suggested.

“I agree”, Sakamae said in support of her sister.

“Ok. The seven of you will go with your Kaa-san. I will not be joining just in case your Kaa-san gets injured. This way at least one of us remains fully healthy. With Ojii-san injured the level of force this family can bring to bear is greatly reduced. And while it has not been confirmed, our family may or may not currently be targeted by yakuzas from the Capital. I will explain this another day”, Tou-san said.

_‘What? Yakuzas are targeting my family? Shit! I love my family, there’s no way I’m letting some yakuza bastards or anyone else harm them! But I need to get stronger to protect them, much stronger!’ _

“Kaa-san I need a tanto. Actual tantos for Rumi-chan and Kiyoko-chan too, because wooden training swords aren’t going to do much against rabbits or wolves or hippos. They have full understanding of the Dance of the Tiger Lily techniques, they aren’t going to injure themselves”, I said while looking my Kaa-san in her eyes.

“Just because you know how to use a sword does not mean that your bodies are used to them yet Genji-kun. Once you have trained up your bodies then I’ll let you and your two sisters have actual swords. For now, you will have to make do with your training swords”, Kaa-san said sternly.

“Oh, ok”, I replied with a disappointed voice.

_‘Well that didn’t work. Now what?’_

“Ok everyone, go put on your armor then meet back here in the playroom”, Kaa-san said as she clapped her hands twice to get everyone’s attention.

“Yes, Kaa-san”, my sisters replied as my older sisters then exited the playroom.

Kaa-san then stood up to walk to the corner of the playroom where our three sets of kendo armor were kept, “Come on Rumi-chan, Kiyoko-chan and Genji-kun, I’ll help you put on your armor.”

Both Rumi and Kiyoko looked competent in their black-colored miniature kendo armors, their wooden training swords currently sheathed and hanging by their sides. Kaa-san was currently putting on the chest portion of my armor.

_‘I really need something better than a wooden sword. Should I go grab a kitchen knife? I could try using the Assisted Combat System to do it and hopefully no one would notice. Nuh, Kaa-san would get angry if she finds out. Sigh. Guess I’m just going to have to jab rabbits in the eye with my wooden sword.’_

Once Kaa-san was done helping me armor up, she then left the playroom to go put on armor of her own.

“Did you tell Tou-san and Kaa-san about your storage space?” Rumi asked while her kendo helmet was facing me.

“Oh, no I didn’t”, I replied.

“Give Kaa-san a brief summary when she arrives. You can store all our water and food, that way Kaa-san and our neechans will be lighter”, Rumi suggested.

“Oh, good idea. Ok, I’ll tell Kaa-san when she returns”, I said as I nodded at her.

_‘Now that I'm thinking about it, Gamer System how fast do I travel when ACS is activated?’_

**|[ The Assisted Combat System modifies your relation with the element of time, allowing you to interact with the world around you 20 times faster than others. ]|**

_‘Can others see me while I’m using ACS?’_

**|[ The Assisted Combat System modifies your relation with the element of time, it does not render you invisible to sight. ]|**

_‘You’re such a smartass sometimes, you know that? Would it kill you to reply with a simple yes or no?’_

**|[ No. ]|**

_‘Unbelievable! A sassy Gamer System! I bet The Gamer never had to put up with this.’_

A few moments later, the sliding door to the playroom slid open as my four older sisters walked in, Kaa-san following shortly after. All five were armed with their swords and wore their samurai armor.

My four samurai sisters then walked up to me and handed me their onigiris and water flasks.

“Girls, what are you doing?” Kaa-san asked curiously.

“Oh, just giving Genji-kun our food and water for the day”, Misaki replied casually.

“Yeah Kaa-san, Genji-kun's ability allows him access to a storage space with unlimited room!” Sakamae replied excitedly.

Kaa-san blinked a few times before she simply said, “Oh, that’s a useful ability to have Genji-kun. Here, store mine too. And here are Rumi-chan’s, Kiyoko-chan’s and yours as well”, handing me a whole bunch of onigiris and water flasks as I hastily shifted them into my Inventory.

“Actually, since you can carry an unlimited amount, let me get more from the kitchen”, Kaa-san before walking out of the playroom.

Returning shortly afterwards with Motoshige in tow, Kaa-san proceeded to give me the rest of the onigiris and water flasks.

_‘I wonder how much stuff is in there now. Inventory!’_

**INVENTORY**

**Onigiri (umeboshi) x24**

**Onigiri (konbu) x24**

**Onigiri (omelet) x24**

**Flask (water) x72**

_‘Do eight people really need this much food and water? Oh well, I suppose more is better than less and the food won’t go off anyway.’_

“Is everyone ready?” Kaa-san asked as seven helmeted heads nodded back at her.

“Ok Genji-kun, do it!” Kaa-san said.

**|[ Do you wish to enter Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits with the following people: Kanemoto Sayuri, Amano Naoko, Amano Misaki, Amano Tsuki, Amano Sakamae, Amano Rumi and Amano Kiyoko? ]|**

_‘Yes, take us in!’_

**|[ You have entered Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits. ]|**

* * *

“I see, so that’s what young Genji-kun’s abilities are. It is both very exciting and very scary at the same time. You are right Takeji-san, for his safety no one outside the family must ever find out about his abilities” Morimasa said to his son as he lay in bed with his chest, left leg and right arm heavily bandaged.

“And will this shirt from a, urm, you said hippopotamus, right? Uh huh, will this hippopotamus shirt really cure your Tou-san?” Kaori asked her son as she sipped some hot green tea while sitting on the edge of her husband’s bed in her son’s guestroom.

“Genji-kun seems to think it will and I have no reason to doubt him. After all, is obtaining a magical healing shirt from a hippopotamus any less impossible than creating a copy-world populated by rabbits that want to kill you for no reason?” Takeji replied his mother with a smile.

“And where does this moving to Konoha idea fit in, Takeji-san?” Masago curiously asked her son-in-law.

“Oh, that is simply an idea of mine that I came up with while having a brainstorming session with Sayuri-chan last night after taking into account our family’s current situation. Firstly, we need a new place to do business in. Secondly, what place is safer than Konoha? Yes, I know all about the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox’s attack, but that was years ago and it has only ever happened once before. And the Fourth Hokage sacrificed his life to kill it already, right?” Takeji explained as he looked at everyone in the room one by one.

“Thirdly, what better way for Genji-kun to be safe from shinobis than to become a shinobi himself? With his abilities he would eventually become the most powerful shinobi in Konoha, or perhaps even the entire world! Whether or not he eventually gets granted the title of Hokage is another matter altogether”, Takeji said as he explained his reasoning to the three elders of the family.

“An Amano as Hokage? A samurai descendant as leader of a shinobi village? The irony ha ha ouch”, Morimasa said as he winced in pain.

“Your ribs are cracked Tou-san, you should refrain from laughing for the time being”, Takeji worriedly said.

“Your Tou-san will be fine, he’s too stubborn to die anyway”, Kaori said with a smirk, receiving a cheeky smile from her husband in response.

“Ouch. Don’t make me laugh Kaori-chan, my ribs feel like they’re breaking all over again every time I laugh”, Morimasa complained.

“They’re cracked, not broken. The good news is that your armor managed to cushion most of the weight. The bad news is that we are going to have to repair most of your armor, especially the breastplate. Takeji-san, have your Tou-san’s armor delivered for repairs at that blacksmith you always go to in the Capital”, Kaori instructed her son.

“Will do, Kaa-san”, Takeji replied.

“That place is so expensive but they are probably the best blacksmiths in the Land of Fire for samurai armor”, Masago noted.

“Yes, they probably are. After all, not too many blacksmiths outside the Land of Iron know how to properly repair traditional samurai armor these days”, Kaori said as she took another sip of her hot green tea.

“The Land of Iron blacksmiths specialize in those newer high-tech samurai armor with their fancy rebreathers and internal climate control, they may not necessarily be better at repairing traditional samurai armor”, Morimasa added.

“That’s probably true. Unfortunately, the Land of Iron has banned the sale of these newer samurai armor to outsiders so we have to make do with our traditional armor”, Takeji said.

“Going back to your Konoha suggestion Takeji-san, what kind of business do you intend to do there?” Kaori asked.

“Well, we could always move the paper company there by a building a new factory. Also, I’m sure that there are plenty of businesses in Konoha we could buy such as shoemakers, tailors, barbers, hairdressers, restaurants, bars or sake lounges. I’m quite certain there aren’t any yakuza in Konoha so I don’t mind investing in bars or sake lounges. But no brothels though”, Takeji suggested.

“Or another idea is we buy the shops and collect rent from the existing tenants? Maybe a combination of all these ideas? Or we buy the shop, invest in the existing tenants and collect a percentage of their profits in lieu of rent? I’m sure we’ll figure something out”, Takeji concluded.

“This means that we should change the destination of our family trip next year to Konoha instead of the Capital”, Masago suggested.

“That is a great idea Masago-chan! I have not been to Konoha in several decades, I wonder how much has changed since then. Once there we can also see for ourselves the state of the village. As we are longtime customers, I’m sure I can manage to arrange an audience with the Hokage regarding my grandchildren becoming shinobi”, Morimasa said.

“If they want to”, Kaori chimed in.

“Yes, if they want to. Out of all my grandchildren, I think only Naoko-chan is likely to turn down this opportunity in favor of managing the family business. Should Genji-kun decide to become a shinobi perhaps Naoko-chan should be the heir to the family business instead Takeji-san”, Morimasa suggested.

“Well, if she does become heir to the Amano family business then I will require her future husband to agree to have their children bear the Amano family name and not his family name”, Takeji said while his hand rubbed his chin.

“That sounds fair enough to me”, Morimasa replied.

“What are the odds of Genji-kun actually becoming a shinobi though? Our family only has samurai techniques to pass on to him, we know no jutsu at all”, Masago asked.

“I do have some sealing knowledge that I could pass on to him, however limited they may be”, Kaori said.

“That reminds me, wasn’t there an Uzumaki girl living in Konoha? You could meet a distant relative of yours Kaori-chan”, Morimasa said.

“I heard from the Konoha shinobi-san that she was killed during the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox’s attack on Konoha”, Takeji replied sadly.

“Oh what a pity, it would have been nice to see another Uzumaki after all this time”, Kaori replied with a sad smile.

“Alright so it’s settled then, after Genji-kun’s second birthday we will visit Konoha as a family”, Takeji said.

“If we do eventually move to Konoha, what do we do with the Amano estate?” Kaori asked.

“While I love living here, I would gladly move to Konoha for my grandchildren’s sake. I know the current Fire Daimyo has always had an eye on this place, something about a summer residence, perhaps we could sell it to him?” Morimasa said, his business instincts flaring to life.

“And how much should we price it at?” Takeji asked.

“High. Very high. Makes this estate seem very exclusive, partly because it is exclusive and partly because nobles in the Capital love showing off how much money they can afford to spend. Spending an extravagant amount of money on a summer residence would certainly appeal to some of them as this allows them to brag to the other nobles. The Fire Daimyo is no exception”, Morimasa said.

“Morimasa-san, every time you talk like that, I can practically see ryō symbols in your eyes”, Kaori said as she giggled at her husband.

“Ha ha ouch, Kaori-channn! Don’t make me laugh. My ribs really hurt you mean old woman”, Morimasa complained.

“It’s just so fun teasing you, old man”, Kaori said with a smile as she patted his right leg.

“Alright, I’m going to let Tou-san rest a bit. I’ll go write a letter to the Hokage expressing our desire to move to Konoha and to schedule a trip there myself after Tou-san has fully recovered”, Takeji said.

“You should first discuss this with Sayuri-chan when she comes back, we both know how my daughter can be sometimes”, Masago said with a smirk.

“Ah yes, thanks for the reminder Masago-chan”, Takeji said with a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head while remembering the conversation that he had with his wife last night.

“Sayuri-chan said that they would be back before dinner”, Masago said.

“I’ll discuss with her after dinner then”, Takeji said as he exhaled through his nose.

“Hahaha, you Amano men are all the same. As aggressive as lions when it comes to business, complete puppies when it comes to your wives”, Kaori said with a laugh.

“That’s because we love our wives very much”, Morimasa said while looking at his wife with a loving smile.

“That and we just don’t like getting nagged all the time, so it’s better to give in and pick our battles”, Takeji retorted.

“Amano Takeji! Stop giving away all our secrets!” Morimasa said playfully.

“It’s the truth Tou-san. And the true secret is that our wives already know it, they simply let us believe that they are unaware”, Takeji said with a laugh.

“I’m so proud of you Takeji-san, and it only took you thirty-five years to admit this”, Kaori said with a big grin on her face.

“Kaa-sannn!”

“Hahaha. You are just like your Tou-san, so fun to tease.”


	14. Chapter 14

**~~ The Next Day ~~**

“I’m so glad that we’re resting today. While I’m fine physically, mentally I’m exhausted”, I complained while sitting on Ojii-san’s chair.

“At least you’re fine mentally. I’m exhausted both physically _and_ mentally”, Rumi said while lying on two of the pillows strewn about the playroom floor.

“Genji-kun, come play toy blocks with me”, Kiyoko said.

“Ok, Kiyoko-chan”, I said as I hopped off Ojii-san’s chair and sat down next to Kiyoko.

Yesterday, the eight of us had cleared Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits four times by fighting four, eight, sixteen then thirty-two thousand rabbits; defeating a Rabbit Earl, a Rabbit Marquess, a Rabbit Duke and finally a Rabbit Prince.

Gaining four levels and 20 points, my title of Apprentice Beast Slayer had also undergone a promotion to Beast Slayer (+40% bonus EXP from killing creatures) once we had slain thirty thousand rabbits.

_‘Guess I should allocate those points now. Status!’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 18**

**Title: Best Brother Ever (1)**

**HP: 288**

**CP: 496**

**STR: 17 (+1)**

**AGI: 16**

**VIT: 16**

**INT: 31**

**WIS: 31**

**Points: 20**

**Experience: 42.98% to next level**

_‘I knew saving my points was a good decision, this way I get to allocate all twenty at once! It’s like saving up loot boxes and opening them all at once. Somehow it just feels better, even if logically it makes no difference.’_

Kiyoko was currently building a large rectangular box of some kind. Picking up a block in each hand, I helped her put them in place together with the other blocks. Having decided on my point allocation, I stood up and walked over to where my red ball was. Walking to the window, I turned around and threw the ball at the wall on the opposite end of the room. The ball hit the wall and bounced four times on the floor before rolling to a stop at my feet.

_‘Alright, let’s put four in Intelligence and four in Wisdom. And let’s bump up Strength by ten seeing as how I’m having great difficulty killing rabbits due to a lack of strength. Although it’s probably because I’m using a wooden training sword rather than a proper blade, resulting in me beating the rabbits to death rather than stabbing them to death. Hmm, then one each for Agility and Vitality.’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 18**

**Title: Best Brother Ever (1)**

**HP: 476**

**CP: 595**

**STR: 27 (+1)**

**AGI: 17**

**VIT: 17**

**INT: 35**

**WIS: 35**

**Points: 0**

**Experience: 42.98% to next level**

Picking up the red ball, I aimed for roughly the same spot on the wall and threw it. This time, it only needed to bounce twice before I reached out with my right hand to grab the ball midair at chest height.

_'While I don’t feel stronger and I’m pretty sure the size of my arm hasn’t increased at all, my ball clearly flew faster and required less time to return to me. This means that I’m definitely stronger now than I was before I allocated those Strength stats.’_

Retaking my seat beside Kiyoko, I then picked up another block and helped her build her rectangle box as I recalled yesterday’s events. Absorbing knowledge on both The Art Of Maintaining Your Blade and Tanto: The Quick Draw used up 6,000 EXP and the transfer to Kaa-san and my six sisters had cost me 420,000 EXP. I considered it EXP well spent as it helped my family members become more knowledgeable. After all, knowledge is power and a powerful family suited me just fine.

“The muscles in my arms and upper thighs are aching”, Rumi complained.

“That’s what happens when the three of us fight almost two thousand rabbits. Kaa-san and our four older sisters had to fight over fifty-eight thousand rabbits and four Boss Rabbits, imagine how they’re feeling today”, I replied.

“Genji-kun, how many rabbits in total did we face yesterday?” Kiyoko asked curiously.

“A total of sixty thousand rabbits, Kiyoko-chan”, I replied.

“Oh ok. I had so much fun yesterday”, Kiyoko said with a grin on her face.

“Ugh, I don’t have unlimited energy like you and Genji-kun so yesterday wasn’t fun for me, at all”, Rumi grumbled.

“Next time don’t give Kiyoko-chan your wooden training sword in order to use your bare hands on the rabbits”, I suggested.

“But I wanted to practice my Soft Palm Style”, Rumi replied with a huff.

“And now you’re paying the price for that decision”, I said with a smirk.

**|[ Threat detected. Assisted Combat System activated. ACS utilizes 5 CP per second. ]|**

_‘Did… did my ACS just activate because Rumi threw a pillow at me?’_

Watching the pillow flying towards my face in slow motion, I decided to deactivate ACS. After all, its just a pillow. What could it possibly do to me?

_‘Oof! Oww, she complains about her arms aching yet she’s throwing pillows like a major league baseball pitcher. Man, Rumi definitely doesn’t throw like a girl. Even though she is one. Wait, is that phrase sexist? Hmmm, nuh most girls do throw like… well, girls.’_

“Using two training swords was so fun”, Kiyoko said as the grin on her face grew wider.

“Yes Kiyoko-chan, dual-wielding swords does make you look cool”, I said as I used Rumi’s thrown pillow as a footrest, resting both my feet on it.

“Holding two training swords makes me look cold?” Kiyoko asked curiously.

“No, cool doesn’t necessarily mean cold. It’s a word that also urm, how do I describe it, erm, it could also mean ‘look better that usual’?” I hesitantly replied, struggling to explain the slang.

“Oh ok. Then I think you looked cool too Genji-kun”, Kiyoko said with an excited smile, probably due to her learning a new usage for a word.

“Of course I did, I’m Amano Genji! Amano Genji _always_ looks cool”, I replied with a laugh.

“Eww, Genji-kun! I put my face on these pillows! Can you please not put your stinky feet on them?” Rumi chided in a horrified voice.

“Genji-kun’s feet aren’t stinky”, Kiyoko rebuffed after she took a close-up sniff.

“Kiyoko-chan! Don’t do that! Eww that’s so gross”, Rumi said as she stood up and walked over to sit down in between Kiyoko and I, probably to prevent any further feet-sniffing incidents.

“You shouldn’t go around sniffing people’s feet Kiyoko-chan”, I said with a laugh as I removed the pillow from beneath my feet and tossed it towards the center of the room.

“Oh, ok”, Kiyoko replied before resuming construction on her rectangular box.

“What are you building this time Kiyoko-chan?” Rumi asked curiously.

“I’m making that big Boss Rabbit from yesterday”, Kiyoko happily replied.

“I thought you were making a rectangular box”, I commented.

“Only because I don’t know how to make the ears”, Kiyoko said as she pouted.

“Here, you place the blocks like this”, Rumi said as she built two parallel block towers on top of the block rabbit’s head, “these are its ears when they’re upright.”

“YOU’RE SO SMART RUMI-CHAN!” Kiyoko excitedly squealed.

_‘Ahh, I love spending time with these two, never a dull moment. Yeah, I’ll never let anyone hurt them or the rest of my family. To accomplish that I have to get stronger, which means more Battle Dungeons! Though, without Kaa-san there’s no way I could have killed that Rabbit Prince, he was as big as a jumbo jet!’_

As I pondered the best way for taking out a five-story tall and jumbo jet-length rabbit, Masago-obaasan entered the playroom. I presumed that she had left to use the bathroom as she was now our main supervisor seeing as Kaori-obaasan was currently busy nursing Ojii-san back to health.

_‘I don’t have Kaa-san’s chakra blade and I don’t have a long-range weapon either. Should I ask Kaa-san for a bow and some arrows? Or a javelin for throwing at my targets? Wait, this is the world of Naruto isn’t it? That’s right, I just need to learn jutsu for long-range attacks! Ah, crap. I don’t have a clue as to how! I only know that the shinobi did stuff with their hands to use jutsu.’_

Looking at my grandmother, a thought struck me. Didn’t Tou-san buy the Soft Palm Style scroll from the Capital?

“Masago-obaasan, I was just wondering, do they sell shinobi jutsu scrolls in the Capital?” I asked with a hopeful voice.

“I think they do sell some low level jutsu scrolls in the Capital Genji-kun, but I don’t know for sure. You should ask your Tou-san, he would know about such things”, Masago replied after thinking for a few moments.

“Oh, ok I will. Where is Tou-san right now? Is he in his special room that we aren’t allowed to enter?” I asked.

“Yes, your Tou-san is probably in his home office right now”, Masago said as she smiled at me, “Don’t worry Genji-kun, you can always ask him at lunch time. Which should be in about an hour or so as the chef is currently making Rumi-chan’s favorite: inari sushi.”

“I only like inari sushi because it’s sweet”, Rumi said as she helped Kiyoko build the block rabbit’s tail.

“Did you request for the chef to make more this time, Masago-obaasan?” I asked.

“Yes Genji-kun, just as Rumi-chan requested earlier this morning”, Masago said as she laughed, probably at the imagery of Rumi stuffing her face with rice wrapped in a sweet tofu pouch whilst in the midst of a Battle Dungeon.

“Thanks, Masago-obaasan!” Rumi gratefully said.

“So Genji-kun, is it really true that your ‘storage space’ ability has no limits other than the size of the object stored?” Masago-obaasan asked in a whisper.

“Yes, Masago-obaasan. Hot food remains hot too!” I proudly replied.

“That’s a very unusual ability you have, Genji-kun. Remember to use it for good and not for evil”, Masago-obaasan said as she looked at me, awaiting my response.

“Don’t worry Masago-obaasan, I’ll only rob the bad guys blind”, I replied with a cheeky smile which elicited a giggle from Kiyoko.

“I think what Masago-obaasan meant was not to abuse your ability in a manner which would bring dishonor to the Amano family name”, Rumi said.

“So, what you’re trying to say is… with great power comes great responsibility?” I asked, the cheeky grin still prominently displayed even though it was a joke that no one in this world would get.

“In the Amano family we say ‘to whom much is given, much is required’ Genji-kun”, Tou-san said with a smile from the playroom’s doorway.

“Tou-san, is it lunch time yet?” Rumi asked.

“TOU-SAN! COME PLAY TOY BLOCKS WITH ME!” Kiyoko yelled out excitedly.

“Tou-san, I didn’t even hear you open the sliding door!” I exclaimed in surprise.

“No, it’s not yet lunch time Rumi-chan. Ok, Kiyoko-chan but only until lunch time. I can be surprisingly stealthy when I want to be Genji-kun, ask your Ojii-san sometime. Back when I was about Rumi-chan’s age I used to hide from him and Kaa-san all the time”, Tou-san said as he sat down next to Kiyoko.

“Why were you hiding Tou-san?” Kiyoko asked.

“I didn’t want to eat my vegetables”, Tou-san said as he laughed heartily.

“But that’s all we eat every day Tou-san, rice and vegetables. So, you just ate rice by itself?” Rumi questioned.

“And fruits, probably”, I said as I imagined Tou-san eating an apple with rice. Yuck.

“Well I suppose you all do deserve an explanation. You see, when Rumi-chan was born your Ojii-san consulted a fortune teller from the Capital who informed him that he shouldn’t eat meat in the family house for a decade in order to preserve the family’s good luck”, Tou-san said with a straight face.

“What?” I dumbly asked.

_‘Are you kidding me!? A fortune teller? A decade!? For good luck? Argh! I’m so gonna kill this fortune teller! Ok fine, maybe not kill… but I’m definitely kicking him in the balls! Argh!’_

“So, before that incident occurred everyone ate meat?” Rumi asked.

“Yes, we did Rumi-chan”, Tou-san replied.

“What does meat taste like, Tou-san?” Kiyoko asked curiously.

“So… what you’re saying is if we aren’t in the main house we can eat meat?” Rumi asked.

_‘Ooh, what is this? Has Rumi the observant smarty-pants discovered a loophole to this meatless hell?’ _

“It tastes really good Kiyoko-chan. Unfortunately Rumi-chan, your Ojii-san defines ‘main house’ as the entire Amano Estate”, Tou-san said.

“So… technically we could eat meat in a Battle Dungeon? Or on the road outside the estate?” Rumi curiously asked.

_‘Ooh! Rumi the champion! I love having smart siblings!’_

“Uhm, technically yes but we try our best not to go against your Ojii-san’s wishes out of respect Rumi-chan”, Tou-san sheepishly said.

“Hmmm. Based on your current demeanor, your self-confessed love for eating meat when you were young and the way you’re wording your replies, my theory is that you eat meat every time you go to the Capital”, Rumi speculated as she touched her right temple with her right index and middle finger.

“One, it doesn’t violate Ojii-san’s wishes as the Capital is far away. Two, you seem to enjoy eating meat so much that you actively avoided vegetables as a child to the point that you hid from your parents who I’m guessing loved you very much. The temptation to eat meat whilst in the Capital would have been too great”, Rumi continued.

“And three, Naoko-neechan told us that you ate meat at a restaurant called ‘yakiniku’ with the ‘all you can eat’ option and that she missed being able to eat meat”, Rumi concluded with a big grin.

“SHHHHH!” Tou-san hushed in a panicky tone.

_‘Sigh, I probably missed out on this sibling information-sharing session during the period where I had yet to learn Japanese.’_

“IF NAOKO-NEECHAN LIKES EATING MEAT THEN IT MUST TASTE REALLY GOOD! TOU-SAN! I WANT TO TRY EATING MEAT TOO!” Kiyoko excitedly shouted.

“I would like to try eating meat too, Tou-san”, Rumi said with an innocent voice.

“SHHHHHHHHHH!” Tou-san urgently hushed in an even more panicky tone.

“You’re on your own on this one, Takeji-san”, Masago-obaasan said as she exited the playroom while laughing.

“I too would like to, erm, try eating meat Tou-san”, I said while laughing gleefully on the inside.

“If you three promise to keep this a secret, I will buy a yakiniku restaurant for our family when we move to Konoha and we can eat there all the time”, Tou-san said with a pleading look on his face.

_‘What? We’re moving to Konoha? Since when?’_

“OKAY!” Kiyoko loudly affirmed.

“When are we moving to Konoha? More importantly, why are we moving to Konoha? Does this have anything to do with the yakuza you mentioned yesterday?” Rumi asked.

Turning to look at Rumi, Tou-san let out a sigh then said, “You know, you’re really smart for your age Rumi-chan. After all, you’re only three-years-old!”

“Tou-san, my fourth birthday was only eight days ago”, Rumi said with one eyebrow raised.

“Oh, it was? Man, you guys seem to grow up so fast. Also, I leave these birthday things to your Kaa-san as sometimes I even forget how old I am and have to ask Sayuri-chan hahaha”, Tou-san said in an obvious attempt to change the topic of the conversation.

“Tou-san, you forgot Rumi-chan’s birthday! How could you? Now Rumi-chan might also _forget_ that you eating meat in the Capital was supposed to be a secret. What was that about respecting Ojii-san’s wishes? Can you imagine how disappointed Ojii-san would be?” I said with an innocent voice.

“Argh, you’re killing me with those eyes Kiyoko-chan. I didn’t forget your sister’s birthday on purpose ok? There’s just a lot going on right now and my attention can’t be everywhere at once. Your Kaa-san is better at remembering important dates and that’s why I rely on her to... alright, alright! Fine! What do you three want in exchange for keeping the meat thing a secret?” Tou-san exasperatedly asked.

“MORE TOY BLOCKS!” Kiyoko loudly replied with an enthusiastic grin.

“More close quarter combat technique scrolls”, Rumi said.

“Tou-san, do they sell jutsu scrolls in the Capital? If they do, then I would like some please”, I said.

Sighing while shaking his head, Tou-san replied after a long pause, “You three are so much like your Kaa-san in terms of behavior, it’s quite scary yet at the same time I’m strangely proud. Alright! More toy blocks for Kiyoko-chan, more scrolls for Rumi-chan and I’ll see what I can do about jutsu scrolls Genji-kun. But you three must never ever, _ever_ mention the meat thing ever again. Do we have a deal?”

“DEAL!” Kiyoko happily shouted.

“Yes Tou-san, your terms are agreeable”, Rumi said with a neutral expression but I knew that on the inside she was jumping for joy.

_‘Rumi loves martial arts more than Kiyoko loves toy blocks. And Kiyoko absolutely loves her toy blocks.’_

“You have made a wise decision Tou-san”, I replied with a big grin.

“Good. We will discuss the Konoha thing as a family when your Kaa-san has recovered. Speaking of lunch, I better go check on your Ojii-san before we have our lunch. While no adults are in here Rumi-chan is in charge, so listen to her you two”, Tou-san instructed as he exited the playroom.

“So Rumi-chan, remember when I gave you that white hat?” I asked.

“Yes Genji-kun. I don’t really wear it now because the weather is getting warmer and that hat makes my head all hot and sweaty”, Rumi replied.

“I figured as much. Anyways, here’s the shirt (+3 Vitality), leg warmers (+3 Agility) and shoes (+3 Agility) portion of that white rabbit set. Remember when I told you yesterday about how if you wear all seven portions of the rabbit outfit that it’ll make you move 10% faster?” I reminded.

“Oh yes, I remember. Thanks, Genji-kun!” Rumi replied as she accepted her gifts.

“And for you, Kiyoko-chan. Here’s the shirt (+3 Agility) and pants (+3 Agility) portion of the white rabbit set. Now the both of you have four pieces each”, I said.

“THANKS, GENJI-KUN! I LOVE IT!” Kiyoko shouted excitedly as she immediately tried to wear both items over her current clothes.

“Here Kiyoko-chan, I’ll help you wear the items. You have to remove your current clothes first though, its too hot to wear both. Please wait outside the playroom till I say you can come back in Genji-kun”, Rumi instructed.

“Ok, Rumi-chan”, I said as I walked towards the sliding door.

Once outside, I closed the sliding door firmly behind me. Deciding to use my time wisely as I waited in the hallway, I mentally brought up my Inventory.

**INVENTORY**

**Onigiri (umeboshi) x16**

**Onigiri (konbu) x19**

**Onigiri (omelet) x13**

**Flask (water) x34**

**White Rabbit Leg Warmers (+3 Agility. Part of The White Rabbit Set.) x2**

**White Rabbit Shoes (+3 Agility. Part of The White Rabbit Set.)**

_'So, I have two pairs of leg warmers and a pair of rabbit shoes left. The only item that I’m currently missing is the gloves in order to complete the White Rabbit Set. Gamer System, show me the stats of the items that I’ve currently set aside for myself please.’_

**THE WHITE RABBIT SET**

**White Rabbit Hat (+3 Intelligence. Part of The White Rabbit Set.)**

**White Rabbit Shirt (+3 Vitality. Part of The White Rabbit Set.)**

**White Rabbit Cloak (+3 Vitality. Part of The White Rabbit Set.)**

**White Rabbit Pants (+3 Agility. Part of The White Rabbit Set.)**

**White Rabbit Leg Warmers (+3 Agility. Part of The White Rabbit Set.)**

**White Rabbit Shoes (+3 Agility. Part of The White Rabbit Set.)**

Yesterday I had discovered that while I was limited to my hands when shifting items in and out of my Inventory, I was somehow able to swap the clothing that I was currently wearing directly with a pre-set list of clothes. A very convenient ability indeed. I named the first set of clothing The White Rabbit Set for ease of remembrance and because Outfit A was way too generic.

_‘These clothing items are so awesome! It automatically adjusts its size to fit the recipient, with its default size being my own. Hopefully I get the gloves when Kaa-san lets us enter the Battle Dungeon again next week. Based on the trend, we’re probably going to face the Rabbit King this time. I wonder how big he’s going to be?’_

After our foray into the Battle Dungeon yesterday, Kaa-san must have used too much chakra, especially on those Boss Rabbits because she suffered from chakra exhaustion afterwards according to Naoko-neechan. As such, Kaa-san was currently bedridden. Naoko-neechan said that it would take probably a week for Kaa-san to recover. In the meantime, the seven of us kids were to rest and train by ourselves while Kaa-san recuperated.

The White Rabbit Set didn’t have any items that gave the Wisdom stat so I couldn’t even give Kaa-san an item to help her recover her chakra. I had confirmed through trial and error that Intelligence multiplied by Vitality resulted in my total amount of CP while Wisdom was solely responsible for my CP regeneration.

**|[ You have gifted the items White Rabbit Shirt (x2), White Rabbit Leg Warmers and White Rabbit Pants to the following individuals: Amano Rumi and Amano Kiyoko. Items have now been bound to the recipients. ]|**

_‘Oh? Rumi decided to wear the shirt and leg warmers? I thought the weather was too hot? And it seems that items are only considered fully transferred once they have been worn for the first time.’_

“Ok, Genji-kun. You may come back into the playroom now”, Rumi’s muffled voice said from inside the playroom.

Sliding the door open, I stepped into the playroom to see Rumi wearing the white-furred shirt, leg warmers and shoes while Kiyoko was sporting her new white-furred shirt and pants to match her white-furred leg warmers and shoes.

“I thought it was too hot to wear these, Rumi-chan?” I questioned.

“I’ll wear it till lunch then I’ll take them off. You should change your outfits too Kiyoko-chan. You can wear them again when the weather gets colder”, Rumi said.

“Ok, Rumi-chan. I just like wearing them because they remind me that Genji-kun loves me very much”, Kiyoko said.

“Yes I do, Kiyoko-chan. I love all my sisters, our parents and our grandparents very much. Eventually we will have enough of these items for everyone, it is only a matter of time”, I said while smiling gently at Rumi and Kiyoko.

As we waited in the playroom for lunch to be prepared, Kiyoko went back to making her block bunny while Rumi assisted her. I climbed back up onto Ojii-san’s rattan chair and made myself comfortable.

_‘I do seem to be taking the news that I’m currently living in a fictional world rather well. Why is that? Is it because I don’t actually miss my previous life? Let’s see: single, never married, no kids, no girlfriend, shit job, shit car and tiny apartment. The only things I miss from my previous life are Benji, my brother and my parents. Well, they have each other so they’ll be fine without me I guess.’_

The sliding room to the playroom slid open as Tou-san returned to proclaim that lunch was ready. As the four of us walked towards the dining area, Kiyoko running ahead of the group as usual, I continued my musings.

_‘Compared to my rather mediocre previous life, I’m now in the world of Naruto where I get to do cool ninja stuff! I mean, I have CP so I definitely have the ability to learn jutsu, plus Tou-san mentioned us moving to Konoha! Oh man! I get to learn how to walk on water, just like Jesus! Ahh, I can’t wait to learn jutsu!’_

As we arrived at the dining table, Tou-san lifted me up into my baby chair. After everyone other than Ojii-san and Kaa-san had arrived, we started eating lunch. Today I was served rice, an omelet and miso soup on the table portion of my baby chair while the others had an assortment of steamed, pickled or deep-fried vegetables on the dining table to choose from.

_‘Hmm, what do I know about the Naruto timeline? Let's see... there’s the academy days, then Naruto graduates, he goes on that bridge mission, then it’s the Chunin Exams, the search for that blonde woman to be Fifth Hokage and then finally that thing where they tried to rescue Sasuke from that wine barrel.’_

Pouring some of my miso soup onto my rice as it was rather dry, I sectioned off a small piece of omelet with my baby spoon and ate it with my rice. My family were currently eating while engaged in conversation. Naoko was quickly finishing her food, probably so she could get more reading done. Misaki and Sakamae were currently laughing about something. Masago-obaasan, Kaori-obaasan, Tou-san and Tsuki were discussing what fruits were currently in season.

**|[ You are consuming rice and chicken egg. You gain 1 HP. HP currently full. ]|**

_‘Wait, doesn’t Konoha get invaded during the Chunin Exams? And we’re moving to Konoha! Oh crap! What do I do? What can I even do anyway? I’m currently just a baby! Argh. And I don’t actually know when in the timeline I’m currently at! Shit! Alright, ignore the things I cannot control, focus on the things that I can. For now, I have to get stronger, way stronger or at least strong enough to keep my family alive during the invasion. Shit, an invasion is Kiyoko’s biggest fear too for some reason! Ah crap.’_

* * *

A hundred miles away in the Capital, where the lunch crowd was currently in full swing with people jostling for the limited number of seats in the various restaurants and eateries, two men entered a sake lounge. The first man to enter was tall with a thin build while the other was short and walked with the assistance of a walking cane.

“Please, have a seat Kuriarare-san. Make yourself comfortable and order anything you’d like, it’s on me”, the shorter man said.

“Well, if you insist”, the tall man replied, his voice slightly muffled by the white bandage wrapped around the lower half of his face.

Calling over one of the pretty waitresses, the bandaged man ordered an expensive flask of warm sake and a dozen slices of chutoro or fatty tuna. After sending the waitress away, the tall man leaned forward towards the shorter man who was currently sitting across from him.

“So, from what I’ve been told you wish to procure the services of my group. And what exactly will we be doing?” Kuriarare Yoshimaru asked with a low voice in order to avoid being overhead by the other patrons of the sake lounge.

“A fairly simple and rather straightforward job: you are to assist a certain merchant family in their departure from the land of the living. There are to be no survivors, is that understood?” the shorter man in a black suit replied.

“And which merchant family are we talking about? Are they here in the Capital?” Yoshimaru enquired.

“The Amano merchant family. They live about a hundred miles away from the Capital in the middle of a forest near to the southern coast. You may keep anything of value that you find in their residence”, the short man replied with a smile.

“Oh, I’ve heard about that family. And why are you using my group if this is as simple and straightforward as you claim? I’m told that you have strong ties with the Murakumo Syndicate, why not use them instead?” Yoshimaru asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

“Because I intend to seize their various assets once they are no longer around, and I can’t be tied to their unfortunate demise if I am to appear as a legitimate businessman. I am attempting to broaden my business network after all. The nobles would not do business with me if I am in any way implicated in the untimely passing of the Amano family”, the older man explained.

“And how do you intend to legitimately seize their assets if they’re dead?” Yoshimaru questioned.

“That is none of your concern, Kuriarare-san. Can you or can you not do the job?” the short man asked as he adjusted his dark sunglasses.

“Of course we can. Are you aware of the standard fee that my group charges for our services?” Yoshimaru asked.

“Yes, I am. A rather steep price I must admit, however you come highly recommended. That being said, you will only be paid in full once you have completed the job”, the man in the black suit stated.

“If we are allowed to keep any valuables that we find then that is an acceptable term. Alright, we have a deal”, Yoshimaru replied.

After the tall man had finished his flask of warm sake and chutoro, he stood up to leave.

“It will take some time for my group to scout out the location before we proceed. We should be done in a week or two, three at most”, Yoshimaru said.

“Very well. Contact me when you are done”, the shorter man said as he watched the gangly man leave the sake lounge.

_‘After he has killed the Amano family, I will have the Oyabun order the Murakumo Syndicate to kill him and his group of bandits. Firstly, it ensures that there are no loose ends. Secondly, it saves me from having to pay their ridiculous fee’_, Gato thought as he smiled to himself.

Looking around the sake lounge that was soon to be owned by him, Gato’s smile grew wider as he stood up to settle the bill and leave. He was headed to a meeting with his dear friend Sadakuno-san after all and it would be unbecoming of a man of his stature to be late.


	15. Chapter 15

**~~ 1 Week Later ~~**

The eight of us were currently gathered inside the playroom. We had just eaten our breakfast and were currently making our final preparations to face sixty-four thousand rabbits as well as the Rabbit King.

“Everyone have everything they need? Girls, did you remember to sharpen your swords using the whetstone? With oil? Good. Rumi-chan, Kiyoko-chan and Genji-kun, remember to be very careful with those tantos as their edges are very sharp, so don’t cut yourselves or its back to training swords for the three of you, am I making myself clear?” Kaa-san asked while looking at The Three Musketeers.

“Yes, Kaa-san”, we replied in unison.

“Good. Everyone given their food and water flasks to Genji-kun? Make sure your combat sandals are strapped on properly, you don’t want to trip and fall during the battle. Alright, is everyone ready?” Kaa-san asked, receiving helmeted nods in reply.

“Kaa-san, what’s the plan again?” Kiyoko asked.

“Same plan as before Kiyoko-chan. The five of us will hold formation outside the main entrance of the house, while the three of you will guard our rear. Then when the Boss Rabbit arrives, I will face it head-on while your four older sisters look for opportunities to flank it”, Kaa-san explained.

“Oh, ok”, Kiyoko said.

“After we’re done with the Rabbit King, are we going to attempt the wolf dungeon?” I asked.

“If we have time Genji-kun. Who knows how long it will take us to deal with sixty-four thousand rabbits plus the Rabbit King”, Kaa-san replied.

“Oh, ok”, I said.

“Alright, it seems that we’re finally ready. Take us in Genji-kun!”, Kaa-san said.

**|[ Do you wish to enter Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits with the following people: Kanemoto Sayuri, Amano Naoko, Amano Misaki, Amano Tsuki, Amano Sakamae, Amano Rumi and Amano Kiyoko? ]|**

_‘Yup, let’s go!’_

**|[ You have entered Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits. ]|**

Entering this soundless world once more, we then exited the playroom and headed in the direction of the main entrance. Standing guard once again in the hallways with Rumi and Kiyoko, I unsheathed my tanto.

_‘This may be a tanto to the grown ups but it’s like a short sword to me. Nice!’_

“We have proper swords now Rumi-chan, no need to use your bare hands this time”, I said.

Rumi turned in my direction and said, “Don’t worry Genji-kun, I won’t be making the same mistake twice. Although I’m somewhat worried about all the rabbit blood that we’ll be spilling unto the floors. Does this mean that we’ll have to move wh…”

“RUMI, KIYOKO, GENJI! GET OUT HERE! NOW!” Misaki shouted frantically from the main entrance, cutting off Rumi’s question.

The three of us immediately started running towards the main entrance with our tantos unsheathed, wondering what was going on. After reaching the main entrance, we stepped outside while looking around expectantly.

In front of us stood a huge white rabbit with a comically small gold crown on its enormous head. It was probably twenty-stories tall and the length of a football pitch. It wasn’t alone either, as surrounding it stood a Rabbit Prince, two Rabbit Dukes and four Rabbit Marquess. Not to mention a sea of white which I assumed to be the sixty-four thousand rabbits we were supposed to face.

_‘Why is the Boss Rabbit here at the beginning? And why isn’t it alone? Oh shit, oh shit!’_

“Change of plans. I’ll take the big one, you four take the other Boss Rabbits. And the three of you, try to lure the regular rabbits away from your four older sisters. Don’t hold back, work together as a team and keep each other safe. Go!” Kaa-san ordered as she charged forward.

“Kanemoto Iaido: Bloom of Summer Flowers!”

I watched as the chakra blades on both of Kaa-san’s swords expanded to fifteen feet in length, Kaa-san clashing with the sea of white rabbits in a whirlwind of destruction. Kaa-san then launched both the chakra blades in parallel crescent arcs at the Rabbit King. To everyone’s surprise, the Rabbit King then unsheathed a sword of his own from behind his back to parry both of the chakra blades headed in his direction.

_‘Oh crap! He has a giant sword!? We are so screwed!’_

“Genji-kun! Here they come!” Rumi’s voice announced as the sea of white rabbits descended on our location by the main entrance.

**|[ Threat detected. Assisted Combat System activated. ACS utilizes 5 CP per second. ]|**

With the world around me slowing to a crawl, I went for a one-hit-one-kill approach in order to conserve my strength. Three, eight, fourteen, twenty, the rabbits fell before my tanto with ease.

_‘This is so much easier with a proper sword!’_

I watched in slow motion as Kiyoko pushed a rabbit back mid-air with her left palm before facing its companion beside it and cutting it clean in half with the tanto in her right hand.

_‘Whoa, Kiyoko is a lot stronger than I thought!’_ I thought to myself as I deactivated ACS to conserve my limited amount of CP.

“There’s too many of them! Kiyoko-chan! Genji-kun! Fall back into the house!” Rumi ordered as she slashed her tanto diagonally, reaping several rabbits at once.

“Ok, Rumi-chan!” Kiyoko replied as she took a step back and slashed with her tanto.

Mimicking her movements, Rumi and I also slashed once then took a step backwards into the house. Once the three of us were inside the hallways, we stood our ground and allowed the main entrance to limit the amount of rabbits that could get to us.

_‘Will my older sisters and Kaa-san be able to handle themselves outside? Shit! I really need to clear these rabbits as quickly as possible so I can assist them!’_

“Rumi-chan! Kiyoko-chan! I need to step back for a bit, going to try something”, I said loud enough so that my sisters could hear me over the sounds of the battle taking place.

Taking five steps behind my sisters, I then focused my attention on the tanto in my right hand. I hadn’t been idle during our week of rest and had tried to create a chakra blade using my training sword as a base. While my trials during the week had always resulted in failure, this time a hazy glowing blue light sprung forth.

**|[ You have discovered chakra shape transformation. ]|**

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

_‘It worked! I knew it! I am somehow able to channel chakra through a proper sword, something that I cannot do with training swords. Is it because it’s made of metal?’_

**|[ You have discovered Chakra Blade. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|**

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

Rejoining the melee, I slashed downwards with my tanto, a two-foot long chakra blade extending outwards from it. This time I felt much less resistance as my tanto cut into the cluster of rabbits, the chakra blade easily cleaving apart the rabbits before me.

“How did you do that, Genji-kun?” Rumi asked as she sidestepped a rabbit that was jumping at her, cutting its torso in half as it flew past.

“Because I’m Amano Genji!” I laughed maniacally while slashing my new chakra blade around furiously, slowly gaining ground against the bunny horde.

“I want to do that too!” Kiyoko said.

“No Kiyoko-chan! Remember what Tou-san said? Your chakra network hasn’t fully developed yet, you have to wait till you’re four-years-old!” Rumi said.

“But Genji-kun can do it and he’s only one-years-old!” Kiyoko retorted as she held a rabbit down on the floor with her left hand, stabbing a charging rabbit in the eye with the tanto in her right hand before switching the tanto to a reverse grip and plunging the tanto straight down into the rabbit that she had pinned down, the tanto going through its head and denting the hardwood floor.

“Genji-kun’s abilities make him special. Tou-san said he had never even heard of a baby with a fully developed chakra network before. So, don’t try using your chakra until your fourth birthday or you’ll damage your developing chakra network, Kiyoko-chan”, Rumi said as she slammed a rabbit’s head into the wall with her left hand and held it there, decapitating another mid-air whilst it attempted to attack Kiyoko.

Rumi then stabbed the rabbit that she was holding against the wall in its torso before pressing its head firmly and slashing the tanto in its torso outwards, showering the crowd of rabbits before us in rabbit entrails.

After fifteen minutes or so, the three of us finally reached the main entrance. It seemed that our efforts inside the hallway were for naught as the sight that awaited us outside was a cloud of rabbits covering the ground as far as the eye could see.

_‘Shit, this is going to take forever! Gamer System, is there any way to increase my attack speed or something?’_

**|[ Hint: Channeling chakra into your muscles could possibly result in an increase to your attack speed. ]|**

_‘WHAT! You’re only telling me this now?’_

Focusing my attention on myself, I used the same technique that I used to create the Chakra Blade but this time I focused it inward, visualizing my chakra flooding all the muscles in my body.

**|[ You have discovered Chakra-Enhanced Muscles. +1 strength for every level, +1 agility for every level, +1% movement speed for every level. CEM utilizes 20 CP per second. ]|**

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Wow! I get an increase in Strength, Agility and movement speed based on my level! So, this means that CEM is a berserk skill, right? Gamer System, do you have any other useful hints for me?’_

**|[ Hint: The key to winning a prolonged battle against a multitude of opponents is to avoid getting killed. ]|**

_‘Ha, ha, very funny.’_

Deciding to test this new ability, I slashed my tanto at the rabbits before us a few times. This time the chakra blade blurred as it moved through the air, looking like a blue whip of death as it cut down rabbits left and right.

_‘Awesome! Gamer System, how much CP do I have left?’_

**|[ You currently have 92 CP remaining. ]|**

_‘Shit, not much CP left. Guess I can only use CEM sparingly. Have to rely on ACS for now as it only uses 5 CP per second compared to CEM’s 20 CP per second.’_

Deactivating CEM, I was distracted by the loud boom of something large hitting the ground in the distance. The three of us looked up towards where the sound had originated from. Along the dirt road that led away from the estate laid the Rabbit King who was missing an ear and its left paw, with multiple cuts all over it and blood pouring from its wounds and the stump where its paw used to be.

**|[ You have killed a Frenzied White Rabbit King. +45.5 Million EXP, +1 Point ]|**

**|[ You have leveled up. +5 Points ]|**

**|[ You gained White Rabbit Hat, White Rabbit Shirt and White Rabbit Pants. Loot automatically stored in Inventory. ]|**

_‘Whoa! Kaa-san only took fifteen minutes to kill the Rabbit King? And I get a free point for killing the Rabbit King? Nice!’_

“KAA-SAN IS SO COOL!” Kiyoko shouted excitedly as she kicked a rabbit with her left leg, sending it flying off to the right then following up the kick by spinning her body to the right while extending her right arm, slashing several rabbits at once.

“I hope Kaa-san doesn’t suffer from chakra exhaustion again”, Rumi replied with a worried voice as she picked up a rabbit by the scruff of its neck, using it as a makeshift shield while she stabbed its companions as they approached.

“Kaa-san seems to be fine. Look! She’s running towards the other seven Boss Rabbits who are currently fighting our sisters on the roof of the horseshoe-shaped building”, I pointed out.

“That’s smart of them to fight on the roof, this way they don’t have to deal with the thousands of rabbits on the ground”, Rumi said as she analyzed the battlefield.

“The Rabbit Prince is so big though”, Kiyoko said as the rabbit in question destroyed a huge chunk of the horse-shoe shaped building with its front paws.

“Alright, now that we know our Kaa-san and sisters are doing fine, let’s retreat back into the hallway for now. It’s easier to hold our ground in there and the two of you look like you might be getting tired”, I said.

“Yeah, I could use a break soon”, Rumi said as she stabbed her makeshift shield in the head before throwing its corpse forward then running back into the hallway.

“I’m still alright Genji-kun, I’ll let you know when I get tired”, Kiyoko said as she rushed back into the hallway behind her sister.

“Hey! Wait up!” I exclaimed as I suddenly found myself alone outside, turning around hastily and running inside the house to regroup with my sisters.

The battle finally ended two hours later. I had leveled up once more, finally completing the White Rabbit Set by gaining the White Rabbit Glove and once again our group of eight were gathered inside the playroom.

Kaa-san was sitting in Ojii-san’s chair and was currently drinking from a water flask while my sisters were sitting on the various pillows strewn about the floor either eating onigiris or drinking from their water flasks.

I had just returned from the kitchen after washing my hands while also using that opportunity to wash the blood off my tanto which was currently sheathed and hanging by my side. The others had already cleaned their weapons with the garden hose outside by the flower garden. Sitting down on one of the pillows, I decided to allocate my points while we rested.

_‘Status!’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 20**

**Title: Beast Slayer (1)**

**HP: 476**

**CP: 646**

**STR: 27 **

**AGI: 17**

**VIT: 17**

**INT: 38**

**WIS: 35**

**Points: 11**

**Experience: 12.89% to next level**

_‘Hmm, at my current level of wisdom it takes me eighteen and a half minutes to recharge my CP from zero. Since I now have two important skills to use, maybe I should boost my amount of CP. Putting more stats into Vitality gives me both more CP as well as HP, so let’s put 10 into Vitality and the last point into Wisdom.’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 20**

**Title: Beast Slayer (1)**

**HP: 756**

**CP: 1,026**

**STR: 27**

**AGI: 17**

**VIT: 27**

**INT: 38**

**WIS: 36**

**Points: 0**

**Experience: 12.89% to next level**

_‘Whoa, that’s a big jump in CP and HP! Maybe from now on I should keep Strength, Vitality and Intelligence the same amount as those affect HP and CP? Alright, but first let’s get Wisdom to 60, that way I regenerate one CP per second. I hope not having lots of Agility doesn’t come back to bite me in the butt.’_

“So kids, lunch should be in an hour which means that right now we have two options. Option One, we return to the real world, wash all this blood off our armor then sit down and have a proper lunch before attempting the wolf dungeon. Option Two, we eat our onigiris and rest for another half hour or so before we attempt the wolf dungeon”, Kaa-san suggested.

“PROPER LUNCH!” Kiyoko shouted excitedly.

“I think we should have onigiris then continue with the wolf dungeon. Who knows how many times we’ll need to do those in order to familiarize ourselves with the Boss Wolf and sunlight is limited”, Naoko said.

“That’s true. Fighting in a Battle Dungeon at night is a bad idea”, Kaa-san said.

“It’s mid-spring so the sun sets a bit later these days. It set slightly before 7 pm yesterday”, Tsuki mentioned.

“Which gives us eight hours or so. Considering it took us two hours to deal with the Rabbit King, I think we should be able to reach the Wolf Duke or Wolf Prince by sunset. What do you kids think?” Kaa-san asked.

“I say we take Option Two and go kick some wolf butt!” Misaki said with a grin.

“I vote for Option Two”, Sakamae said.

“I would like to have a proper lunch, so I vote Option One”, Rumi said with a neutral tone of voice.

“Can’t let my twin down, so I vote for Option Two”, Tsuki said.

“Since Rumi-chan and Kiyoko-chan voted for Option One, I too vote for Option One”, I said.

“That’s four votes for Option Two, and three for Option One. Option Two it is!” Kaa-san announced which elicited a disappointed sigh from Kiyoko.

“We can always enjoy a good dinner Kiyoko-chan”, Kaa-san said.

“Oh, ok”, Kiyoko said as she walked over to me and asked for her lunch.

“What kind of lunch would you like Kiyoko-chan?” I asked.

“Two inari sushi and one omelet onigiri please, Genji-kun”, Kiyoko asked politely.

Shifting the items into my hands, I reached out and placed them into Kiyoko’s outstretched hands.

“Thanks, Genji-kun!” Kiyoko said with a smile.

“You’re welcome, Kiyoko-chan”, I said while returning her smile.

As Kiyoko sat down next to me, I saw Rumi approach.

“I would like six pieces of inari sushi please, Genji-kun”, Rumi asked politely.

“Here you go”, I said as I placed the food into her hands.

“Thanks, Genji-kun!” Rumi said with a nod of her head.

“You’re welcome, Rumi-chan”, I said while returning her nod.

Half an hour later, we were once ready again ready to do battle.

“Everyone ready? Let’s stick to the same battle plan and see how it goes. You four stay with me outside the main entrance, you three inside the hallways. Alright, let’s go Genji-kun!”

_‘Gamer System, enter Battle Dungeon: Rabid Wolves!’_

**|[ You have entered Battle Dungeon: Rabid Wolves. ]|**

It didn’t feel any different. There was still a lack of background noises, no sounds from the cicadas coming from the window or any sounds coming from inside the house either. Rabbit blood still stained the pillows that we had sat on and there was still rabbit blood on the floor of the hallway.

_‘I knew nothing changed when we repeated the rabbit dungeon but somehow, I expected everything to reset now that we were in the wolf dungeon. Interesting. Uh oh, we’re still covered in rabbit blood and the title implies that the wolves are rabid.’_

“Kaa-san, these wolfs are rabid and we’re currently covered in rabbit blood”, I said in a whisper.

“You mean we’re already inside the wolf dungeon?” Kaa-san asked in a surprise tone while whispering.

“Yes, Kaa-san”, I replied, keeping my voice low.

“I see. Well, let’s just stick to the plan for now”, Kaa-san said in a whisper while she led the way to the main entrance.

Before we even got to the entrance, we heard a wolf howl which was followed by a lot of wolves howling. It sounded like a wolf concert out there as it was really loud. I nervously unsheathed my tanto, my sisters doing the same with their swords.

Suddenly, a wolf poked its head into the house. Seeing us down the hallway, it stepped into the house and bared its teeth while growling fiercely, starting to froth at the mouth. Kaa-san then unsheathed both of her swords while instructing, “Change of plans: we fight inside the house and use the hallways to limit their numbers. Misaki-chan and Sakamae-chan take the rear, you three little ones stay in the middle. Go!”

I was taken aback by the sight of the wolf. It was completely covered in black fur from snout to tail and it was big. Very big. I was expecting to see a large dog but the wolf before us was the size of a large lion, its torso almost reaching the height of Kaa-san’s armpits.

_‘Holy shit! How many of these are we supposed to fight? Battle Dungeon Status!’_

**|[ Battle Dungeon: Rabid Wolves. 0 / 1,000 killed. 1,000 enemies remaining. ]|**

_‘Oh crap! A thousand of these things? Going to need all the advantage I can get. Gamer System, shift my outfit with the White Rabbit Set!’_

**|[ You are now wearing Outfit: White Rabbit Set. The additional effects of The White Rabbit Set have been activated. +3 to all stats, +10% movement speed, +10% evasion ]|**

_‘Hmm, Gamer System does this movement speed bonus from items stack with the movement speed bonus from CEM?’_

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

_‘I’ll take that as a yes. Also yay, free stat point! Alright, let’s do this!’_

The black wolf charged forward towards Kaa-san, the hallway preventing it from moving too much to the left or to the right, the height of the eight-foot ceiling also preventing it from jumping to gain a meaningful height advantage.

Lunging forward, Kaa-san’s katana pierced its head before she released her hold on the katana as the wolf thrashed about with a katana sticking out of its head. Kaa-san then jabbed the wakizashi in her hand upwards, burying it in the wolf’s head up to the hilt.

**|[ You have killed a Rabid Black Wolf. +700 EXP ]|**

_‘Let’s see, removing the 40% bonus EXP from my Beast Slayer title gives… ten times more EXP compared to a Frenzied White Rabbit! Nice.’_

Withdrawing her katana from the corpse, Kaa-san then planted her feet and awaited the next attack. Soon, several wolves entered the hallway from the main entrance, attracted by the sounds of the fight that had occurred. Their black eyes glowed with madness as their mouth’s started frothing, probably due to the smell of rabbit blood that covered the floors of the hallway.

“Are there any wolves behind us?” Kaa-san asked.

“No, Kaa-san”, Misaki replied.

“Take Sakamae and go check the entrance by the kitchen. If there aren’t any, close and lock the door there and return here. Go! Now!” Kaa-san ordered.

“Yes, Kaa-san”, my two sisters replied simultaneously before they ran off down the hallway.

“Kaa-san, I’m scared”, Kiyoko said in a soft voice.

“Don’t worry Kiyoko-chan, I’ll protect all of you to the best of my abilities. Although we should probably return to the real world once we’re done with this. I was expecting the Boss Wolf to be bear-sized, not the regular wolves. Genji-kun, how many of these do we have to fight?” Kaa-san asked as she eyed the wolves who seemed content at growling from a distance for the moment.

“A thousand in total, Kaa-san”, I replied as I placed my left hand on Kiyoko’s shoulder to reassure her.

“Don’t worry Kiyoko-chan, I’ll stand in front of you”, Rumi bravely said as she took a step forward and turned her body sideways to the right while holding her tanto so that it was facing downwards and behind her. Lifting her left hand up at chest height and holding her open palm forwards with an outstretched hand, she looked like a school crossing guard except with a tanto instead of a stop sign.

I recognized it as one of the opening stances of the Soft Palm Style. She was aiming to divert the opponent with her left hand while counter-attacking with the tanto in her right hand. I was quite certain that this stance wouldn’t work against what appeared to be a five-hundred-pound wolf.

Deciding that I was better suited as a vanguard, I walked in front of Rumi and held my tanto in a two-handed grip while I spread my legs slightly and lowered my center of gravity. This way I could dodge to the left or the right, using the walls as a kick-off point to attack the oncoming wolves. Wolves that had chosen this moment to start charging at us.

Bracing herself, Kaa-san called out, “Everyone! We are doing a reverse leap frog as we need to do a fighting retreat around the house! Naoko and Tsuki, prepare to stand your ground once I run behind you. Kill a few wolves then run behind me. Repeat this pattern. You three little ones, go inform Misaki and Sakamae! Go! Now!”

“Yes, Kaa-san!” We replied as Kaa-san launched a chakra blade in a crescent at the charging wolves which was quickly followed up by a second crescent, then a third and a fourth as Kaa-san bought us time to prepare.

**|[ You have killed a Rabid Black Wolf (x26). +18,200 EXP ]|**

Running as fast as we could, the three of us nearly ran into Misaki and Sakamae who were running in our direction.

“Misaki-chan! Sakamae-chan! Kaa-san said to do a reverse leap frog in a fighting retreat around the house!” Kiyoko cried out as Misaki caught Kiyoko before they could run into each other.

Unfortunately, Rumi’s reaction rate wasn’t fast enough to avoid colliding into Kiyoko’s back. Realizing this, I activated ACS to take three steps forward, placing my hand in front of Rumi’s chest guard then deactivating ACS.

“Oof!” Rumi exhaled as my hand prevented her from running into Kiyoko at full speed.

“Are you alright Rumi-chan? How did you move so fast Genji-kun?” Misaki asked with a surprised tone in her voice, her wide eyes staring at me from behind the eye holes of her black samurai mask.

“Thanks, Genji-kun. That’s another one of his abilities, Misaki-chan”, Rumi replied while taking a step back, away from Kiyoko.

“Yeah, Genji-kun can move really really fast if he wants to. You haven’t seen it because he only does it when he’s fighting and we’ve been fighting inside the hallways while you’ve been fighting outside”, Kiyoko explained.

“Oh, that’s a really useful ability to have Genji-kun because in a fight, speed is everything. Ok, Kaa-san said reverse leap frog? That means that Kaa-san thinks the enemies are too strong to face head-on”, Sakamae said.

“You three go to the dining area, make sure no wolves jump in from the windows or anything like that. If they do, Genji-kun is to use his speed ability to blind it. Improvise from there, got it?” Misaki instructed.

“Yes, Misaki-chan”, the three of us replied.

“Good, come on Sakamae-chan, let’s take our place in the reverse leap frog. We’ll be back here soon enough, so the three of you should prepare to run towards our rooms”, Misaki said.

“Yes, Misaki-chan”, the three of us said in unison.

“Let’s go!” Sakamae exclaimed as they both ran off towards where Kaa-san and the others were.

After six hours of constantly moving throughout the house in a circular pattern, taking care of the few wolves that were smart enough to squeeze in from a window every now and then, we found ourselves back inside the playroom.

The Three Musketeers had managed to kill twenty wolves, mostly due to me blinding the target and facing it head-on while Rumi and Kiyoko circled around to attack it from the sides. A few had managed to lay traps by hiding inside the rooms, bursting through the thin sliding doors to ambush us. All of us had somehow miraculously avoided getting bitten.

“So, it’s just the Boss Wolf left, Genji-kun?” Kaa-san asked, her breathing ragged and uneven.

“Yes, Kaa-san. Will you be fighting it?” I asked with a concerned voice.

“I don’t think so Genji-kun. I might have used up too much chakra in that last fight”, Kaa-san said as she brought the flask of water up to her mouth with two shaky hands.

“Oh no, Kaa-san do you have chakra exhaustion again?” Kiyoko worriedly asked.

“Unfortunately yes, Kiyoko-chan”, Kaa-san said as she drew in a deep breath.

“Don’t worry Kaa-san, Sakamae-chan and I will take the Boss Wolf head-on, Naoko-chan and Tsuki-chan can look for opportunities to flank it”, Misaki said.

“Yeah, Kaa-san. Don’t worry, just leave it to us!” Sakamae declared.

“Alright, attack conservatively and don’t let it bite you, not even once”, Kaa-san warned.

“We all saw what one of those wolves did to the dining table Kaa-san, we know to avoid getting bitten”, Naoko said as she shivered at the thought. The wolf in question had bitten through the two-inch thick hardwood table like it was paper.

“You three stay in here with me. Let your four older sisters handle this Boss Wolf”, Kaa-san instructed.

“Yes, Kaa-san”, the three of us replied.

“Alright, let’s go!” Misaki said.

“Be careful Misaki-chan, don’t just charge in like always”, Tsuki reminded.

“Don’t worry Tsuki-chan!” Misaki replied as she led the other three out of the playroom and towards the main entrance.

Twenty minutes later, I received a popup confirming that the Boss Wolf had been killed.

**|[ You have killed a Rabid Black Wolf Baron. +70 Million EXP ]|**

**|[ You gained Black Wolf Vambraces, Black Wolf Pants and Black Wolf Greaves. Loot automatically stored in Inventory. ]|**

_’Man, 70 million EXP and no level up? How times have changed. Hmmm, what are vambraces and greaves?’_

* * *

“They’re done, Kaa-san”, Genji said while lying down on a pillow, both his hands folded behind his head.

“Oh, that’s good”, Sayuri replied her son. Today had been a tiring day, fighting wolves had been a completely different experience from fighting rabbits. She had even been pushed to the point of chakra exhaustion simply from fighting a few hundred regular wolves, something that took multiple Boss Rabbits to accomplish.

Then again, regular rabbits couldn’t bite an appendage off with a single bite. It had taken all her skill and athleticism to avoid getting bitten even once. Deciding that long range attacks were preferred, she had reached the point of chakra exhaustion after launching over two hundred chakra blade crescents.

“We did it, Kaa-san!” Sakamae exclaimed happily from the playroom doorway.

“Kaa-san, we kicked its butt!” Misaki said with an equally happy tone from behind her younger sister.

“You nearly lost an arm Misaki-chan”, Tsuki wearily said as she entered the playroom.

“But I didn’t!” Misaki hurriedly said, lifting up both her hands for emphasis.

“You would have if I hadn’t pushed you out of the way in time”, Naoko said as she entered the playroom, dropping down onto her knees and comically plopping down onto a pillow mask-first.

“Naoko-chan, remove your helmet and mask first before you do that or you’ll end up with a flat nose”, Sayuri said to her eldest daughter, receiving an unintelligible mumble of words in reply.

“We should clean our weapons and armor with the garden hose outside before you take us back to the real world Genji-kun, it'll prevent blood from dripping all over the floor”, Rumi suggested.

“That’s a good idea Rumi-chan. Alright girls and boy, let’s go outside to get cleaned up”, Sayuri agreed.

“Here Kaa-san, let me help you up”, Misaki said as she walked towards her weary mother.

“I’ll help too. We can carry her in-between us”, Sakamae said as she too walked towards her mother.

“Good idea, Sakamae-chan”, Misaki said as she helped her mother stand up, shouldering her weight on her right side, Sakamae shouldering the other side.

The four older children had experienced growth spurts as all four were currently almost as tall as their mother, their heights ranging from Sayuri’s nose to her shoulder, with Naoko being the tallest and Misaki the shortest.

As she was being half carried out of the playroom, Sayuri noticed her son holding black arm braces of some kind. Turning her head towards her son, she curiously asked, “Where did you get those from Genji-kun?”

“Oh, I got these from the Boss Wolf and they’re called vambraces, which is a pretty cool name for bracers”, Genji said.

“Cool! Let me see, let me see”, Kiyoko said excitedly from beside Genji.

“Here you go Kiyoko-chan, you can have them. Want to try them on now?” Genji asked.

“Of course! Rumi-chan, help me!” Kiyoko said as she excitedly motioned for her sister to come over.

“Coming, Kiyoko-chan”, Rumi said as she stood up from her pillow.

The group of eight made their way outside, towards the back of the main house where the small flower garden was located. Taking turns to use the two garden hoses to spray down their armor, the rest sat on the ground or leaned against the wall while they tried to scrub any dried blood off parts of their armor.

“I’m so tired”, Naoko said as she let out a deep sigh.

“So am I”, Tsuki said as she tried to scrub a particularly stubborn patch of blood off her shoulder guards.

“It was a good idea to suggest leaving the buckets and cloths out here Naoko-chan, we won’t even have to clean the blood off the cloths as it doesn’t transfer over to the real world”, Sayuri said to her eldest daughter with a nod of approval.

“Thanks, Kaa-san”, Naoko replied as her spirits lifted at her mother’s praise.

“I don’t understand why we can’t get the servants to wash our armor for us”, Sakamae complained.

“Samurai armor prevents you from being heavily injured or outright killed as compared to not wearing any. As such, maintaining one’s own armor is likened to taking care of one’s own body. Plus, it also teaches you responsibility, Sakamae-chan”, Sayuri said as she tiredly observed Kiyoko scrubbing one of her cuisses or thigh armor, as she could hardly lift her arms and was currently leaning against the wall of the house.

“Like this, Kaa-san?” Kiyoko asked as she looked at her mother for approval.

“Yes, Kiyoko-chan. You’re doing a good job. Remember to wash out all the blood in between the armor plates too”, Sayuri said with a smile.

“Ok, Kaa-san. I will!” Kiyoko said as she returned to enthusiastically scrubbing her mother’s armor.

“Are you sure you want to scrub blood-stained armor with your new vambraces Kiyoko-chan?” Genji asked as he looked up from scrubbing his mother’s greaves, which protected everything on the lower leg from the knees down to the ankles.

“It’s fine Genji-kun”, Kiyoko replied before she looked up to look at Genji before adding, “Although I somehow feel stronger with them on.”

“Well, if I had to put a numerical value on it, the rabbit gloves give 3 more strength while the wolf vambrace gives 8 more strength, more than two and a half times more”, Genji explained.

“That sounds cool. Did I use that word correctly Genji-kun?” Rumi asked.

“Yes, that is the proper way to use the word ‘cool’, Rumi-chan”, Genji said as he smiled.

Laughing at her son’s made-up meaning for a word, Sayuri suggested, “In that case we should do the wolf dungeon enough times so that all of us have these vambraces.”

“Of course! The goal is to get everyone a full set. And unlike the fluffy clothing items from the rabbits, these wolf ones are actual proper armor. They’re made of metal and everything!” Genji explained.

“For all the trouble we had to go through to get them, it would have been so disappointing if they were made of a fluffy material”, Naoko said with a smirk.

“If the difficulty scales according to the same scale as the rabbits, the next one will be even harder. What does everyone think about going straight to the hippopotamus dungeon instead?” Rumi suggested.

“Based on the size of the wolves today, wouldn’t the regular hippos be as big as a horse-drawn carriage?” Tsuki asked.

“Probably”, Genji said.

“We’ll discuss this next week. Maybe we should continue doing the rabbit dungeons till Genji-kun is strong enough to hold his own against a regular wolf. It would certainly help relieve some pressure from the rest of us”, Sayuri said.

“Did you get stronger today, Genji-kun?” Naoko curiously asked.

“I sure did, Naoko-neechan. The amount of chakra I have nearly doubled from today’s activities”, Genji replied with a matter of fact tone of voice.

“Wh… what!? Doubled?” Misaki asked with shock evident on her face.

“Err, yeah. Could you please clarify what you just said Genji-kun. Your amount of chakra doubled?” Sakamae asked with an equally shocked face.

“Urm, it means what it means. The amount of chakra I have almost doubled today”, Genji replied nervously.

“Wow, that is so unfair Genji-kun”, Misaki said with a frown.

“Yeah, everyone else has to work really hard and undergo all sorts of samurai techniques to increase their chakra reserves”, Sakamae added.

“Our Genji-kun here is able to kill hundreds of rabbits on his own at the age of one-years-old. I even saw him cut a rabbit in half while it was jumping at him in midair. Compared to that, I don’t think doubling his chakra reserves is anything to be surprised about”, Naoko said after thinking about it for a moment.

“Naoko-chan is right. Genji-kun here is extremely strong for a one-year-old. A few more rabbit dungeons and he’ll be strong enough to face wolves on his own. Right, Genji-kun?” Tsuki said.

“Yes, Tsuki-neechan. If we do a few rabbit dungeons every day for the next few days, I’ll definitely be able to handle wolves on my own”, Genji confirmed with a nod of his head.

_‘What a terrifyingly powerful ability, it simply defies all common sense! Was this power granted to Genji-kun by Kami himself? At this growth rate he’ll be stronger than even Morimasa-sama in half a year’s time!’_ Sayuri thought to herself.

“I’m done, Kaa-san!” Kiyoko excitedly said.

“Well done, Kiyoko-chan. Is everyone else done?” Sayuri asked her other children.

“Yes, Kaa-san”, came various voice in the affirmative.

“Alright, let’s go back into the playroom before we return to the real world, don’t want to accidentally startle anyone outside with our sudden appearance out of thin air”, Sayuri said as Misaki and Sakamae once again helped her walk towards the house. Rumi, Kiyoko and Genji were helping to carry Sayuri’s armor.

Once they got back into the playroom, Sayuri motioned for Genji to return them to the real world. Keeping her eyes on the various blood-stained pillows strewn about the floor, Sayuri noticed the pillows suddenly shift positions, the blood disappearing instantly.

Knowing that they were now back in the real world, the sound of the cicadas coming from outside the window confirming it, Sayuri breathed a sigh of relief.

_‘A nice long warm bath with assistance from Takeji-san would be really nice’_, Sayuri thought to herself.

Reaching up to massage the creak in her neck, Naoko arrived at the sliding door and slid it open.

Naoko’s surprised scream got everyone’s attention.

Looking out into the hallway, they were all greeted with the sight of Motoshige’s corpse lying in a pool of his own blood. He had several stab wounds in his torso and his throat was cut wide open. By his side lay a stranger, Motoshige’s hand still holding the knife that pierced the stranger’s heart.

“Bandits! Quick! Everyone put your armor back on!” Sayuri hurriedly instructed.

“What?” Genji dumbly said.

“Invasion!” Kiyoko exclaimed, her eyes going wide and fearful.

“Quick, Sakamae-chan, help me wear my armor!” Naoko exclaimed as she firmly closed the playroom door.

“Genji-kun! Quick, take my wakizashi!” Sayuri quickly instructed.

“What?” Genji foolishly repeated.

“Genji-kun! Focus! Our estate is under attack! The main house has been breached! Take my wakizashi and protect your sisters!” Sayuri ordered with a stern voice.

“Oh, right. Ok, ok Kaa-san. Do you think… do you think Ojii-san and Tou-san and Masago-obaasan and Kaori-obaasan are alright?” Genji asked with a fearful tone as he picked up his mother’s short sword.

“I don’t know Genji-kun. I don’t know. For now, we need to get everyone into their armor. Once everyone has done that, only then will we proceed to check out the rest of the house”, Sayuri said as she noticed that her four older children were in the midst of putting on their armor or helping someone put on their armor. Only her youngest three were fully armored, seeing as they had only removed their helmets previously and Genji was suddenly wearing a white outfit.

_'How did Genji-kun get changed so quickly? Where did his kendo armor go?'_, Sayuri thought to herself, surprise evident on her face.

“I heard a scream! Where did it come from?” came a voice from the hallway.

“I don’t know. You, you and you check the rooms down that hallway. You two, follow me!” another voice replied.

A few seconds later, the sliding door to the playroom was abruptly thrown open, revealing three men standing in the hallway.


	16. Chapter 16

This wasn’t an anime, a manga or some kind of fictional world. This world was as real as it got and proof of that was lying right there in the hallway in the form of Ojii-san’s personal butler. That wasn’t animated blood, rabbit blood or wolf blood dripping out of his throat, that was actual human blood pooling on the floor below his body.

Three rough-looking men currently stood in doorway to the playroom. A few moments before the sliding door had been forcefully thrown open, Kaa-san had mentioned that they were bandits. To my knowledge, bandits were basically pirates that operated on land.

Back on earth, the concept of a pirate had been thoroughly Disneyfied with rides and movies, embellished with likeable characters exhibiting witty humor while others sang and danced to catchy tunes. There was even a really popular anime about pirates called One Piece.

However, reality was starkly different. A pirate was a terrible excuse for a human being who robbed their way to short-lived riches, having no compunctions about torturing or raping their victims before killing them. I assumed that bandits were not any better.

The three criminals before me did not have metal hooks for hands or wooden pegs for legs, they instead wielded curved daggers and a bloodied meat cleaver, the one in the middle brandishing a short sword.

Two of the ruffians were currently looking at my practically defenseless Kaa-san and scared older sisters the way a glutton would look at food. The third thug had yet to look away from me and I did not particularly like the look in his creepy eyes, they reminded me of horny animals during mating season on Animal Planet.

_‘Ok, this is real. This isn’t a Battle Dungeon and they aren’t rabbits or wolves who want to kill you for no reason. They are bad people who kill for fun and will probably rape Kaa-san and my sisters either before or after they kill them. And I’m quite certain that this creepy bandit wants to do unspeakable things to my baby body, ugh. What do I do? Tou-san and my grandparents are probably already dead... shit! Shit! SHIT! OJII-SANNN!! NOOO!!!’_

Imagining in graphic detail my Ojii-san being brutally murdered while he lay defenseless in bed with a broken arm, broken leg and cracked ribs while Kaori-obaasan pleaded for their lives to no avail before the bandits slit her throat; my mind blanked as sheer rage burst forth and overwrote all rational thoughts.

Kaa-san was currently saying something to the bandits but the words failed to register as my eyes developed tunnel vision and my pupils focused on the three bandits before me. My heart rate spiked to over a hundred and fifty beats per minute as my fight or flight instincts kicked in, adrenaline flooding my bloodstream from the adrenal glands above my kidneys.

Subconsciously knowing that fleeing wasn’t an option, my mind went on autopilot as the sheer amount of unadulterated rage surging through me countermanded all the higher functions of my brain, shutting off critical thinking and reverting me into a rage monster.

When the nearest bandit stepped forward, his foot landing inside the threshold of the playroom, my mind somehow took that as the cue to begin my rampage. A popup box appeared before my eyes but I didn’t even notice it as my body seemingly dashed forward on its own accord.

The world around me blurred by as my baby legs closed the gap with the bandits in record time. Drawing out Kaa-san’s wakizashi as well as my tanto from their respective sheaths, I opened my mouth and let loose my fury in the form of a single word at the top of my lungs: “DIE!”

Aiming to inflict as much damage as possible, using the blue extension of the wakizashi in my right hand I cut off a foot before stabbing upwards into the bulge of a groin with the blue-tinted tanto in my left hand. Unleashing a storm of violence on the oddly stationary bandits before me, I rapidly converted the three of them into chunky salsa.

Noticing something out of the corner of my right eye, I turned my head and saw a bandit looking in my direction from the junction in the hallway. Turning to face the latest target on which to unleash my wrath upon, I darted over and removed his legs above the knees with a single horizontal slash from left to right, the chakra blade from my wakizashi hardly meeting any resistance.

Following up my initial strike, I drove my tanto upwards into his stomach area then slashed the embedded tanto downwards through his crotch as the chakra blade from my wakizashi pierced into his chest where I assumed the heart was located. Identifying that there were two more targets down the hallway to my right, I grit my teeth as my body once again launched itself forward and I continued purging my home of the uninvited guests.

* * *

An indeterminate amount of time later, I finally came to my senses when my eyes registered that Kiyoko was standing before me, her hands on my shoulders as her mouth opened and closed repeatedly. She was probably saying something.

_‘Where did her helmet go? Is that tears flowing down her cheeks? What is she even saying?’_

“GENJI-KUN! CAN YOU HEAR ME?” Kiyoko’s loud voice reverberated throughout my head as she shook my shoulders back and forth.

“Ki… Kiyoko-chan? Is that you?” I asked as my voice came out hoarse, my throat feeling rather dry. Kiyoko nodded her head in reply, a worried look evident on her face as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“What… what happened?” I asked while blinking several times as my vision seemed to expand outwards, becoming more focused as the seconds went by. Glancing around, I noticed that I wasn’t even inside the house anymore as we were currently standing somewhere within the bamboo forest.

Or rather, where the bamboo forest used to be. The bamboo stalks around me had been mostly cut down with small bundles intermittently standing here and there. Only the bamboo stalks in the distance had survived the cull. There were dead bodies lying all over the ground, bits and pieces of human remains scattered about the various pools of blood on the ground.

“You vanished from the playroom,” Kiyoko said as she sniffed, “and I thought that you were going to disappear again like last time,” wiping away fresh tears with the back of her left hand, “and I was so scared that you wouldn’t come back this time.”

“Sorry Kiyoko-chan, I didn’t mean to scare you like that,” I said as I sheathed my tanto with my left hand into its holster that was hanging from my lower back and Kaa-san’s wakizashi with my right hand over my right shoulder into its sheath behind my back.

Looking downwards, I noticed that the formerly pristine white fur of the White Rabbit Set was now dyed with streaks of dark red, with patches of brown here and there as the blood had begun to dry. Shaking someone’s entrails off my right shoe, my mind registered some voices that were advancing on our position.

Turning around, I was greeted by the sight of Kaa-san being half-carried in between Misaki and Sakamae, with Naoko and Tsuki walking beside them as they made their way over to us from the direction of the house. All four of my older sisters wielded katanas in their hands.

_‘I don’t see Rumi. Where’s Rumi?’_

Glancing around, I failed to spot my second youngest sister. Fearing the worst, I turned towards my youngest sister and hurriedly asked, “Kiyoko-chan! Where’s Rumi-chan?”

“Oh, Rumi-chan said that she had to collect something important from the house and that we should go on ahead of her,” Kiyoko explained as she wiped away her tears with the back of her right hand.

“And all of you just let her?” I asked in disbelief, wondering how many bandits were still lurking about.

“Don’t worry, Genji-kun. The bandits have all left, they ran towards the forest,” Kiyoko said with a small smile as she sniffed before wiping away the rest of her tears.

“What? They ran away? Why?” I asked in confusion.

“Well, you did kill like thirty of them in rather gruesome ways judging by the bloody remnants that we spotted along the way. The rest of them probably didn’t feel like being chopped into little pieces so they ran for their lives,” Misaki said as her eyes continuously scanned our surroundings.

“How did you move so fast, Genji-kun?” Kaa-san asked with a tired voice while her face was brimming with curiosity, her eyes sharp and vigilant.

“Oh, Rumi-chan and Kiyoko-chan explained that it’s one of his abilities. But he only uses it in fights,” Sakamae replied.

“I see. And who taught you how to produce a chakra blade?” Kaa-san continued her questioning.

“Yeah, Genji-kun. Where did you learn how to do that?” Tsuki asked curiously.

“Erm, I’ve been trying to do it all week on my training sword but it didn’t work. Then earlier this morning when we were in the rabbit dungeon, I managed to get it to work with the tanto that Kaa-san gave me,” I explained.

“Is that so? That’s very impressive Genji-kun. And here I thought that Misaki-chan was a genius when she managed to produce a chakra blade at the age of seven. The rest of your sisters could only generate their first chakra blades at the age of eight!” Kaa-san exclaimed with a surprised tone.

“Your tanto is made of a chakra-conducive metal, Genji-kun. That’s why it didn’t work with your wooden training sword as it’s not made of chakra-conducive wood,” Misaki explained.

“I wanted to try too but Rumi-chan said that I had to wait till my fourth birthday for my chakra network to grow,” Kiyoko said with a pout.

“Rumi-chan was right Kiyoko-chan, your chakra network has yet to fully mature. When you are four-years-old I will check your chakra network again to ensure that you can safely attempt to create a chakra blade,” Kaa-san said with a kind smile.

“Oh, ok Kaa-san,” Kiyoko replied.

“What did I miss?” Rumi’s voice came from behind Kaa-san.

“Rumi-chan, you’re back! What was so important that you had to go off on your own?” Naoko asked.

“This,” Rumi said as she held up a pocket watch by a gold chain.

“Is that… my birthday present?” I asked in astonishment.

“Of course,” Rumi said as she handed the gold-colored timepiece to me.

“But why did you go back for it? No material item is worth risking your life for Rumi-chan,” Naoko reprimanded.

“But it’s Genji-kun’s first birthday present! It has sentimental value!” Rumi protested.

“That was very thoughtful of you, Rumi-chan. But next time, let one of your older sisters do something like this instead, ok?” Kaa-san said as she reached out to give Rumi a one-handed hug.

“Yes, Kaa-san,” Rumi replied.

“Thanks Rumi-chan. I really appreciate it,” I said as I shifted the pocket watch into my Inventory for safekeeping.

“Wow, Sayuri-chan. You didn’t hold back at all, huh? Even the poor bamboo plants didn’t escape your wrath,” Tou-san’s voice said from behind me.

“TOU-SAN!” Kiyoko screamed which was quickly followed by similarly loud shrieks from the rest of my sisters.

“Takeji-san!” Kaa-san exclaimed, a smile appearing on her face as some tears flowed down her cheeks.

“Glad to see that everyone is alright. And I see Genji-kun got himself covered in rabbit blood again,” Tou-san said with a smirk as he removed his samurai mask and helmet.

“Genji isn’t covered in rabbit blood, Takeji-san. And I didn’t kill any bandits either as I had to push myself to chakra exhaustion inside the wolf dungeon. Our brave little Genji-kun here killed the bandits by himself and in the process apparently cut down a sizable chunk of our bamboo forest,” Kaa-san explained as Tou-san leaned forward to hug her.

_‘I did!?’_

“He did!?” Tou-san exclaimed in surprise as he patted Kaa-san on the back and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead.

“Tou-san, have you seen Ojii-san, Kaori-obaasan and Masago-obaasan?” I asked with a worried tone.

“Yes Genji-kun, they are safe. We were having our afternoon tea when your Kaori-obaasan alerted us that the outer perimeter of the estate had been breached by multiple chakra signatures, so we relocated all our servants along with your grandparents to the Small House at the back of the estate. Do you remember that place, Genji-kun?” Tou-san said with a smile.

_‘Phew! They’re all alive!’_

“Oh, that’s good. And no, I don’t remember the place Tou-san,” I replied.

“But Motoshige-san… his body was in the hallway by the playroom door,” Kaa-san said with sad tone.

“Oh dear, Tou-san will be sad to hear that. Motoshige-san decided to remain inside the main house with four of the guards. I assume that none of the guards survived?” Tou-san asked.

“No, we spotted their bodies by the main entrance,” Sakamae replied with a grim look on her face.

Sighing, Tou-san removed the breastplate of his samurai armor. I noticed that his shirt was covered in blood and it looked like there was a breach in the armor on his thigh as well.

“Takeji-san! You’re injured!” Kaa-san exclaimed in a concerned voice.

“Oh, it looks worse than it is. A few archers managed to get in a couple of lucky shots, that’s all,” Tou-san said with a smirk.

“Now is not the time to make jokes Takeji-san, let’s get to the Small House and have your wounds patched up. Come on girls and boy,” Kaa-san instructed.

“Yes, Kaa-san,” we replied.

As our group passed a small wooden shack which served as a secondary guard house, I recognized the guard uniform on a headless body leaning against the outside wall. Grimacing, I turned my head away.

“So Genji-kun, it was you who drew the attention of all those bandits? I was holding back a large group of them when all of a sudden, they started moving towards the direction of the bamboo forest,” Tou-san said as he walked with an obvious limp. Naoko noticed and quickly assisted him as Tou-san leaned against her, trying to keep his weight off the leg with the limp.

“I wasn’t sure if it was a trap so I stood my ground by the main door. However, after a few minutes I spotted a group of bandits in the distance running towards the forest. Curious as to what they were planning, I cautiously made my way over and that’s when I stumbled across all of you!” Tou-san said as we made our way across the large grazing field.

“I don’t actually know what happened Tou-san. One moment I was standing beside Kaa-san in the playroom, the next moment I found myself in the middle of the bamboo forest with Kiyoko-chan standing in front of me,” I replied, my memory patently uncooperative in providing the details.

“Is that so? Well, based on what the bamboo forest currently looks like, I think you put the fear of Kami in them!” Tou-san said with a laugh.

“Seeing large numbers of your bandit group getting chopped into little pieces by a blood-covered baby tends to have that effect,” Misaki said with a smirk.

“Hopefully they don’t return anytime soon,” Kaa-san said with a somber tone.

“Seeing as all of the guards are likely dead, continuing to stay in our large estate would be rather foolish”, Tou-san said as he stopped walking, which caused our group to come to a halt as well.

“What are you suggesting, Takeji-san?” Kaa-san asked as she looked at Tou-san.

“We may have to relocate our family to our residence in the Capital,” Takeji said after a pause.

“Is that really the wisest idea, Takeji-san? I mean, these bandits were probably hired by you know who,” Kaa-san said.

_‘What? These bandits were hired by someone? Was it those yakuza that Tou-san mentioned previously?’_

“It’s quite the conundrum isn’t it, Sayuri-chan? On one hand, we cannot continue staying here in the family estate. On the other, the bandits will likely attack us either as we leave or ambush us while we’re travelling,” Tou-san said.

“Sigh, I see what you mean Takeji-san,” Kaa-san said with a nod, “so what do you suggest that we do?”

“I think that we should travel to the Capital via Genji-kun’s Battle Dungeon. We send the servants ahead of us on horses while we travel in horse-drawn wagons via the Battle Dungeon. We then exit the Battle Dungeon somewhere close to the Capital, that way we only need to deal with the rabbits once,” Tou-san said as he looked at our group.

“But Kaa-san has chakra exhaustion, who is going to kill the Rabbit King?” Naoko asked with a worried tone.

“That depends. Genji-kun, did you get any stronger from fighting the bandits or do you only get stronger inside a Battle Dungeon?” Misaki asked as she looked at me.

“Erm, let me check,” I muttered.

_‘Gamer System, what’s that blinking orange box in the top right corner of my vision?’_

**|[ You currently have unread notifications. ]|**

_‘Oh? Alright then, let’s see these notifications.’_

**|[ You are undergoing the effects of Mindless Rage. A buff has been added. A debuff has been added. ]|**

**|[ You have received a Quest. ]|**

**|[ You have commenced the Quest: Survive The Bandit Attack. ]|**

**|[ Assisted Combat System activated. ACS utilizes 5 CP per second. ]|**

**|[ Chakra-Enhanced Muscles activated. CEM utilizes 20 CP per second. ]|**

**|[ You have killed a bandit (x16). ]|**

**|[ You have exhausted your CP. ]|**

**|[ You have killed a bandit (x10). ]|**

**|[ You have killed a shinobi [Grade: F] (x3). ]|**

**|[ Your HP has fallen dangerously low. ]|**

**|[ Assisted Combat System deactivated. ]|**

**|[ Chakra-Enhanced Muscles deactivated. ]|**

**|[ You are no longer undergoing the effects of Mindless Rage. A buff has been removed. A debuff has been removed. ]|**

**|[ You have completed the Quest: Survive The Bandit Attack. +10 Points ]|**

**|[ You have fulfilled a hidden objective of the Quest: Survive The Bandit Attack. +7 Points ]|**

_‘Whoa, my first quest! Wait, what? I killed a ninja? But I thought they were bandits? What does Grade F even mean? Is killing ninjas the hidden objective?’_

“Uhh, yes Misaki-neechan I did get stronger”, I said as I quickly scanned the long list of notifications before my eyes, spotting the additional points gained.

“Can you take on a Rabbit Marquess? That way Sakamae-chan and I can fight the Rabbit King while Tou-san, Naoko-chan and Tsuki-chan handle the other Rabbit Bosses”, Misaki asked.

_‘If I damage its legs enough, I could immobilize then blind it. After that it’ll only be a matter of time before I finish it off.’_

“Yes, Misaki-neechan. I think I can,” I replied confidently.

“What about me and Rumi-chan?” Kiyoko asked.

“Just regular rabbits for you and Rumi-chan,” Kaa-san interjected.

“Awww,” Kiyoko pouted.

“Great, we have a plan! I’ll inform the servants of what they’re to do and get the chef to cook a large amount of food for Genji-kun to store away for our journey. We’ll leave early in the morning,” Tou-san said as he resumed walking towards the Small House and our group followed suit.

_‘Gamer System, what was the hidden objective of the quest?’_

**|[ Ensure that your mother and all your siblings survive: 7/7. ]|**

_‘Oh. But why doesn’t that include Tou-san, Ojii-san and my two grandmothers?’_

**|[ They were not present in the room when the quest commenced. ]|**

_‘Oh, ok. So how do I trigger quests?’_

**|[ You will subjectively be issued with quests from time to time. ]|**

_‘So, this means that I can’t just create my own quests? Guess that’ll be gaming the system, which you don’t approve of.’_

**|[ You have correctly deduced a fact about your current situation. Your wisdom increases by 1. ]|**

_‘Hmm that makes sense, I guess. Gamer System if I store my blood-covered outfit into Inventory, will it remove the blood on my clothes?’_

**|[ Your inventory is an extra-dimensional space, not a laundromat. ]|**

_‘Awww man, I was hoping that it had some sort of magical cleaning function. Guess I’ll be wearing an outfit covered in dry blood tomorrow.’_

As our group arrived at the Small House, the chef greeted us at the door wielding a kitchen ladle in one hand and holding a pot as a makeshift shield in the other. Recognizing us, he let out a sigh of relief and stepped aside to allow our group entry into the house.

“What's the situation like, Takeji-san?” Ojii-san’s voice came from inside the living room.

_‘Hey Gamer System, why did my HP drop to a dangerous level anyway?’_

**|[ Mindless Rage added a buff which allows you to consume HP in lieu of CP. When your HP diminished below 10, all active skills were automatically deactivated. ]|**

_‘Oh shit! My own Skills nearly killed me?’_

“The bandits appear to have fled because of your grandson,” Tou-san said with a chuckle as we entered the living room as a group.

_‘Hmmm. So when this Mindless Rage skill deactivated, is that when I came to my senses inside the bamboo forest?’_

**|[ Mindless Rage isn’t a skill, it is a mental condition. Would you like to add it to your list of skills? ]|**

_‘Wait, what? It’s not a skill? Hmmm, do I really want a skill that turns me into a raging psycho who doesn’t remember what he’s done?’_

“Oh? What happened?” Ojii-san asked curiously as my sisters placed Tou-san on the couch and Kaa-san on the sofa next to Masago-obaasan.

_‘Well, it’s better to have and not need it rather than to need and not have it, right? Ok Gamer System, add it to my list of skills!’_

**|[ You have discovered Mindless Rage. Adds buff: immune to fear and able to consume HP in lieu of CP. Adds debuff: rational thinking and critical thinking severely limited. Mindless Rage utilizes 10 CP per second and only deactivates when you have run out of targets or HP. ]|**

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

“We arrived back into the playroom from the wolf dungeon,” Naoko explained, “then when I opened the sliding door, we saw Motoshige-san lying dead on the ground with his throat cut open!”

“Hmmm. Motoshige-san served me faithfully for over thirty years. Kaori-chan, please seal up his body and send it to his parents in the Land of Silence. Takeji-san, please convey to them our deepest condolences and give them some money to cover the funeral expenses”, Ojii-san said with a somber tone, his eyes closed.

“Ok, Morimasa-san,” Kaori-obaasan said.

“I will see to it,” Tou-san said with a nod.

“Go on, Naoko-chan,” Ojii-san said.

“Kaa-san immediately realized that we were being attacked by bandits so I quickly closed the door and we started putting back on our samurai armor,” Naoko said.

“But just a few seconds later the sliding door opened and there were three bandits standing there!” Tsuki added.

“Yes, then after Kaa-san asked what they had done to the rest of the people in the house, they started saying that they were going to do horrible things to us,” Naoko said with a shudder.

“Then out of nowhere, Genji-kun here screams a battle cry and blitzes past them, running out into the hallway,” Misaki said.

“He just ran past the bandits?” Ojii-san asked with a curious expression.

“Well, after he had disappeared in the direction of the dining area the three bandits just erm, burst? Yeah, they just seemed to burst into a fountain of blood and severed limbs!” Misaki exclaimed.

“Kaa-san said that it was because Genji-kun used so much force that his chakra blade cleanly cut through their body parts, and that he had cut them so many times that their blood escaped from their bodies all at once,” Naoko added.

“Genji-kun can use chakra blades!?” Tou-san asked in disbelief.

“Yes, he can,” Kaa-san said as she looked at me with a radiant smile.

“Thanks, Kaa-san,” I said as I felt my cheeks start to blush.

“You’re my grandson alright!” Ojii-san said as he looked at me with a look of pride on his face.

“Thanks, Ojii-san,” I said as I rubbed the back of my head while smiling sheepishly.

“And then what happened?” Kaori-obaasan asked.

“Well, as we waited inside the playroom we heard some shouting coming from outside the house. It was the sounds of men shouting out in fear and desperation before they went oddly silent,” Naoko continued explaining.

“By then we had put our armor on and so we left the playroom in a defensive formation,” Misaki said.

“That was when we discovered all the bodies in the hallway. Some were our guards but most were bandits. We could tell the difference because the bodies of the guards were mostly intact while the others were blood-spattered piles of body parts,” Sakamae interjected.

_‘Holy shit! What exactly did I do to those bandits? Gamer System, why can’t I remember?’_

**|[ Your mind impeded both short-term and long-term memory retention in order to devote more brainpower towards combat. ]|**

_‘Well that’s just dumb. Gamer System, can you make it so that I can actually remember what happens when I activate Mindless Rage next time?’_

**|[ Your mind is no longer able to impede both short-term and long-term memory retention during Mindless Rage. ]|**

_‘Ok, that’s good. Now I’ll actually remember what I’m doing!’_

“And that’s our plan on what to do next,” Tou-san concluded.

_‘Oh crap, I missed everything that they were saying!’_

“I see. Alright, we don’t have much time left before sunset, we should start packing our essentials,” Ojii-san said with a nod of his head.

“Alright. I’ll inform the servants and the chef of what we’ll be doing. I’ll tell them to only pack the essentials, we can buy everything else that we need once we’re in the Capital,” Tou-san said.

“Good idea,” Ojii-san affirmed.

“I’ll take the servants back to the main house,” Kaori-obaasan said.

“Come Takeji-san, let me see to your wounds,” Masago-obaasan said as she stood up and walked over to Tou-san.

“I would like a warm bath please. Misaki-chan and Sakamae-chan, please assist me,” Kaa-san instructed.

“Yes, Kaa-san,” my two sisters replied.

“Come Genji-kun, let’s try to wash off as much blood as we can with the garden hose outside by the vegetable patch,” Naoko said as she led me out of the living room by my hand.

“I want to come too!” Kiyoko said.

“I would like to assist as well, if you don’t mind Naoko-neechan,” Rumi said.

“Sure, let’s go!” Naoko said with a giggle.

* * *

“Slow down, slow down. I can’t understand what you’re saying when you speak that fast. Here, drink some water first,” Kuriarare Yoshimaru said as he handed the man sitting in front of him a water flask.

After taking a few gulps of water, the muscular man wiped his mouth with his sleeves and said, “Boss, there was a demon in that house! You have to believe me! It was an actual demon! The demon had a red face and its body was covered in white fur, even its feet had fur!”

Raising an eyebrow, Yoshimaru said, “There’s no such thing as demons. I’ve met several so-called demons before, they are simply extraordinarily strong human beings. Are you sure this wasn’t a shinobi in disguise?”

“Boss, you have to believe me, I’m telling you the truth! It was a real demon! And no, it wasn’t a shinobi in disguise as it was only about two-feet tall! Unless you’re saying that the Amano family hired a shinobi midget who likes wearing white fur,” the physically strongest member of the bandit group replied in a shaky voice.

“Hmmm. While there are shinobi who prefer wearing white clothing such as Konoha’s Hyuga clan, I definitely have never even heard of any shinobi midgets. That’s the kind of information that would stand out in a conversation. Are you sure it wasn’t just a really short shinobi child?” Yoshimaru asked with a skeptical tone.

“I’m sure! The demon ran up to us and cut down the three captains so quickly that they didn’t even have time to react! One moment we were running through a bamboo forest to investigate where the screams and shouts were coming from, the next moment the bodies of the three captains fell down in separate pieces as the surrounding bamboo plants started falling down on our group!” the bald man said as he recalled the horror of what had occurred.

“And the three Captains? They died without even putting up a fight?” Yoshimaru asked.

“They didn’t even have time to blink! Boss, I’m telling you it was a real demon! The other men confirmed that it was covered in blood, so it probably drinks the blood of the humans that it kills!” the large-sized man said as he gestured wildly with his hands to emphasize his point.

_‘That’s impossible! The three of them were genin level shinobi. Did the Amano family really hire a shinobi midget?’_

“Were you drunk during the mission?” Yoshimaru asked with a skeptical tone as he quickly dismissed the idea of a shinobi village filled with midgets.

“None of us were drunk, Boss. I’m telling you, it was a small white-furred demon! After killing the three captains it just stood there and growled at us. Oddly enough, its mouth only had four small teeth: two upper front teeth and two lower front teeth. The other men think that this is probably why it has to cut up its victims, so it can drink their blood without having to bite its prey!” the man said as he rubbed his bald head.

Yoshimaru stared at the man before him for a few moments before saying, “Ok Ryobe-san, let’s pretend for a second that it was a demon-”.

“It was!” Ryobe vehemently insisted.

“Ok, let’s say that it was. Why would it stop attacking in order to growl at you and the men?” Yoshimaru asked.

“Maybe it was deciding which one of us it wanted to drink blood from? I don’t know! Look, all I know is that I didn’t want to stay around long enough to find out! Apparently the others had the same thoughts as well because we all started running away at the same time,” Ryobe exclaimed.

“Ok, walk me through the mission from the very beginning. The three captains, you and a hundred men arrived at the target location. Then what happened?” Yoshimaru asked.

“Alright, so the three captains and a hundred and fourteen men arrived at the target. After scouting out the location for a day, the captains decided that it was an easy target so we went for a frontal assault,” Ryobe explained.

“Ok, seems reasonable enough. And then?” Yoshimaru said as he gestured with the universal ‘go on’ motion.

“At first it went very well. We killed a dozen or so guards, entered the house and killed another half dozen guards together with a middle-aged man. Then someone said that he saw someone running towards the bamboo forest so we gave chase,” Ryobe described before he proceeded to empty the flask of water.

“And that’s when the demon appeared?”

“No.”

“Alright, go on.”

“After we went through the bamboo forest, we saw that the person we were chasing was dressed as a samurai. There were a few people running in front of him, so it seems that the samurai was their escort. After a short run, we saw that there was actually a smaller house hidden behind some fruit trees!”

“That’s when the demon attacked?”

“No.”

“So, when exactly does this demon appear?”

“I’m getting to that part, Boss.”

“Alright, continue.”

“Ok, so we approached the house and the samurai was standing guard outside the front door. When some of the men got near, the samurai used some sort of blue light to kill these men at range. Four of them died before the rest of us backed off to a safer distance.”

“This blue light, did it happen to originate from his sword?”

“Yes! How did you know, Boss?”

“That means it was a chakra blade. Interesting, it seems that the Amano family hired an actual samurai bodyguard. Go on.”

“One of the captains then gave the order for the men with bows to start shooting at the samurai. The samurai managed to dodge and parry all but two of the arrows, one of them hitting him in the thigh and the other in the torso.”

“And then?”

“That’s when we heard some shouts for help coming from behind us! It was one of the men that was supposed to search the main building. He said that there was a demon by the pond who was killing everyone! As he was explaining, we heard shouting coming from the bamboo forest. The captains then had everyone move together as a group towards the bamboo forest to investigate what was going on.”

Yoshimaru once again gestured with the universal ‘go on’ motion.

“When we entered the bamboo forest, that’s when it happened! All I saw was a red blur and the next thing I know, the three captains in front of me were killed and bamboo stalks started falling down on us!”

“Ok, where did the demon come from?”

“I don’t know! It came from the direction of the pond, I guess?”

“So, it was hiding somewhere inside the main building and the men failed to notice it when you initially went through the house?”

“Erm, apparently so.”

“Ughhh, I’m surrounded by morons! How many times must I remind everyone to never ever leave an enemy at your back? Ok, describe what happened after it killed the captains.”

“The demon stood still and growled at us. The most intimidating part of it was that the demon was holding a long blade that was almost as tall as it was, and the blade was just dripping blood onto the ground! So that’s when we decided to run away! I mean, it killed our three captains in less time than it took to sneeze, what chance did we have against it?”

“I see,” Yoshimaru said.

“So, what do we do now, Boss?” Ryobe asked.

“How many valuable items did you and the men manage to get your hands on? It’s the main residence of the richest merchant in the Land of Fire, I’m sure there was gold and silver just lying around the place,” Yoshimaru enquired.

“We left two dozen men behind to search the buildings but none of them managed to escape. We even waited for an hour for them but it seems that everyone that wasn’t with the main group had been killed!” Ryobe exclaimed, once again waving his hands about for emphasis.

“So, let me get this straight,” Yoshimaru said as he stood up, “all three captains leading this mission as well as a third of the men died.”

“And we didn’t manage to obtain a single item worth selling for ryō?” Yoshimaru said as he walked behind the seated Ryobe.

“Yes, Boss,” Ryobe replied.

“I see,” Yoshimaru said as he plunged a kunai deep into the back of Ryobe’s head just above the neck where the skull was softest, “I guess if you want something done right, you do it yourself.”

Yoshimaru then wiped off the blood that had splattered on his hand using Ryobe’s sleeves before loudly clapping twice and waiting patiently. Soon enough, a man appeared in the doorway.

“Dispose of this moron's body then rally all of the men, we are going to attack the Amano estate!”


	17. Chapter 17

**~~ The Next Day ~~**

I covered my mouth with my right hand as I yawned, the first rays of sunlight dyeing the dark blue sky with an orange hue. My family had me storing various items inside my Inventory the night before, though most of them were storage scrolls. Kaa-san said that the scrolls contained a portion of the family’s wealth.

_‘Were those storage scrolls filled with suitcases of money?’_

Tou-san had ordered the chef and his two kitchen assistants as well as the dozen servants to leave on horseback the night before, they were to take an indirect route to the Capital. He had given each of them quite a bit of money to purchase new wardrobes for themselves.

“Genji-kun, did you sleep well?” Kaa-san asked from somewhere behind me.

Turning around, I nodded at my mother. “Yes, Kaa-san.”

Kaa-san smiled at my response before she climbed up into the back of the second wagon with Tou-san’s assistance. We were currently standing on the dirt road by the horseshoe-shaped building, my sisters were wearing their samurai armor while stretching and my three grandparents were currently in the covered back of the second horse-drawn wagon.

“I’m so excited!” Kiyoko exclaimed while bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

“I’m also looking forward to leaving the family estate for the first time,” Rumi said as she stretched both hands above her head before bending over to touch her toes.

“We’re first going to have to get through a hundred-and-twenty-eight-thousand rabbits including a Rabbit King,” I said, dampening their enthusiasm.

“Don’t worry Genji-kun, it’s just rabbits,” Kiyoko said with a grin, her enthusiasm unfazed as she strapped on her Black Wolf Vambraces (+8 Strength).

“Yeah Genji-kun, not like its wolves,” Rumi said as she cracked her knuckles, having completed her stretching routine. Kiyoko and I then helped her wear her kendo armor.

“I guess you’re right Rumi-chan and Kiyoko-chan, I’m just a little nervous because I’ve not fought a Boss Rabbit in a while,” I replied as I checked the straps on Rumi’s kendo armor. It would be quite embarrassing if her kendo armor fell-off midway through battle.

For this journey to the Capital, I had elected not to wear my blood-stained White Rabbit Set because knowing that it was covered in human blood was rather off-putting, not to mention unhygienic. Yesterday evening my sisters and I had tried to remove as much blood as we could but unfortunately most of the blood had dried, deeply staining the fabric.

Tou-san was currently loading up the third wagon with the large storage scrolls that contained Ojii-san’s favorite rattan chairs which were too big to fit into my Inventory. Deciding that I should probably assign my 17 points while waiting, I mentally pulled up the Status screen before my eyes.

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 20**

**Title: Best Brother Ever (1)**

**HP: 756**

**CP: 1,053**

**STR: 27 (+1)**

**AGI: 17 **

**VIT: 27 **

**INT: 39 **

**WIS: 38 **

**Points: 17**

**Experience: 39.86% to next level**

_‘Let’s put 12 into Vitality, three into Agility, one into Wisdom and one into Strength.’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 20**

**Title: Best Brother Ever (1)**

**HP: 1,131**

**CP: 1,521**

**STR: 28 (+1)**

**AGI: 20 **

**VIT: 39 **

**INT: 39 **

**WIS: 39 **

**Points: 0**

**Experience: 39.86% to next level**

_‘I now have almost 50% more CP, awesome!’_

“Leaving so soon? But the party hasn’t even begun,” a man’s voice said with a mocking tone.

Quickly turning around, I spotted a tall and lanky man standing on the roof of the horseshoe-shaped building. He had long, shaggy blonde hair and was wearing a grey coat which reached his knees, a dark grey bandanna covering his face below the eyes.

**|[ You have received a Quest. ]|**

_‘I've got a bad feeling about this. Gamer System, what’s the quest?’_

**|[ Quest: Survive The Bandit Attack. ]|**

_‘Again? Hmph, I have a lot more chakra today compared to yesterday. I’ll just activate ACS to deal with them this time.’_

“Genji-kun, regroup with your sisters behind me,” Tou-san said as he placed himself in between us and the bandit on the roof, getting into an iaido stance as he spoke.

_‘This time I’m prepared, you assholes!’_ I thought to myself as I pulled out Kaa-san’s wakizashi from its sheath behind my back with my right hand, my left hand drawing out my tanto from my lower back.

“To think that the Amano family were actually a family of samurai! It’s no wonder my men lost yesterday. And where is this little red demon that I’ve been told about?” the bandit asked before he jumped down onto the ground, somersaulting once before sticking the landing.

_‘Red demon? What red demon? Wait, is he referring to me?’_

“To attack us once, I would think that it’s a stroke of bad luck on our part. But twice? That’s no coincidence. Who hired you to attack us?” Tou-san asked as he wrapped the fingers on his right hand around the handle of his sheathed katana.

“If you summon your demon to fight me, I’ll tell you who hired me,” the bandit smirked in response.

“Demon? What are you talking about?” Tou-san asked as he affixed his samurai mask.

“Tou-san, I think he’s talking about Genji-kun,” Misaki whispered from beside me.

“So you even named him Genji? I’m feeling rather generous today, so I’ll make you an offer: tell me about the demon summoning ritual and in exchange I’ll let you and your family leave,” the bandit said with a laugh.

_‘He heard Misaki’s whisper from way over there? But how, he’s like thirty feet away! This guy isn’t an ordinary bandit, that’s for sure.’_

“There’s no such thing as demons,” Tou-san said with a firm tone.

“Come now, there’s no need to lie. I even asked nicely because I’m a nice guy. Do reconsider my generous offer,” the bandit said as I pictured him smirking wickedly behind his bandanna.

A hundred or so people then exited the forest in the distance while carrying an assortment of weapons, everything from axes to large clubs. They slowly surrounded the dirt road leading out of the estate, my family trapped in between them and the lone bandit in front of me.

**|[ You have commenced the Quest: Survive The Bandit Attack. ]|**

“Genji-kun, take us in,” Tou-san whispered.

“Oh ho, talking to your demon eh? Let me guess, he’s invisible and standing beside you?” the bandit asked.

_‘He definitely can hear what we’re whispering from way over there. This guy is dangerous! Gamer System, enter Battle Dunge-’._

As I was issuing the command, the bandit suddenly bit his thumb and brought his hands together. I instinctively activated ACS and watched him start doing hand seals in slow motion.

**|[ Assisted Combat System activated. ACS utilizes 5 CP per second. ]|**

**|[ Do you wish to enter Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits with the following people: Amano Morimasa, Hamasaki Kaori, Kanemoto Masago, Amano Takeji, Kanemoto Sayuri, Amano Naoko, Amano Misaki, Amano Tsuki, Amano Sakamae, Amano Rumi and Amano Kiyoko? ]|**

_‘Shit, he’s not a bandit, he’s a ninja! The only jutsu I know of that requires blood is the summoning jutsu. Argh, he’s probably going to summon some giant monster and it’s going to destroy my house. Not on my watch!’_

I rushed forward just as he completed his hand seals and moved to place his right palm on the ground. Rapidly closing the distance, I channeled chakra into the wakizashi in my right hand.

**|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|**

“Summo-,” the bandit started to say.

Just as his palm hit the ground with a circle consisting of squiggly lines appearing on the ground beneath his hand, the chakra blade from my wakizashi pierced his palm.

_‘Oh no, that didn’t stop the summoning. Gamer System, get us into the Battle Dungeon now!’_

**|[ Warning: Space-time abnormality detected. ]|**

**|[ You have entered an unknown location. ]|**

“-ning Jutsu!” the bandit finished saying.

Trees suddenly appeared all around us as our surroundings were immediately transformed into a forest, the Amano estate nowhere in sight. A big cloud of smoke then exploded outwards from beneath the bandit’s hand as I suddenly found myself high up in the air.

Glancing left and right, I saw that the bandit and I were currently above the treetops of the surrounding forest. Looking down, I realized that I was standing on a hard surface that was black and blue in color. Turning around, I saw two giant pincers in the distance.

_‘OH SHIT, I’M ON A GIANT CRAB!’_

“Arrrrggghhh!” the bandit shouted in slow motion, his mind finally registering my chakra blade in his palm.

Not wanting to give the bandit any time to react, I thrust my tanto towards his face with my left hand as I withdrew the wakizashi in my right hand. To my surprise, he managed to move his head out of the way right as the blade moved past his face.

_‘What? Oh, I probably need more reach. Chakra blade!’_

**|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|**

As a two-foot-long chakra blade extended outward from my tanto, I swung the tanto slightly downwards to the left with the intention of decapitating him at the neck. Once more to my surprise, he brought up a kunai with his left hand to parry my tanto.

_‘What’s going on? Isn’t ACS activated? How can this guy react so quickly?’_

The ninja then back-flipped backwards and away from me. Landing about twenty feet away, he withdrew a rapier-like sword with an extra-long handle from behind him.

“Oh, you’re fast. I wasn’t expecting that but unfortunately for you, I’m on a whole different level compared to my genin followers,” the ninja said with a laugh.

_‘What the hell is going on? I’m currently moving 20 times faster than everyone else, so how is he moving and speaking like we’re in real-time? Wait, did he say genin? So those three ninjas that I killed yesterday were his genin followers. Oh shit, does three genin followers means that he’s their jonin?’_

“Are you their jonin sensei?” I asked as I got into a stance using the Soft Palm Style: Dance of the Tiger Lily, turning my body so that it was facing the ninja sideways with my tanto held in a reverse grip in front of me, my wakizashi pointed towards the ground behind me.

“Yes, those were my three genin that you killed yesterday. I am Kuriarare Yoshimaru, former jonin of Kirigakure,” the ninja replied as he pulled away the bandanna on his face, revealing a wide grin formed with two rows of pointy piranha-like teeth.

“Who?” I asked.

_‘Crap, isn’t that where that bridge guy with the giant sword is from?’_

“You don’t know who I am? I’m sure that I made it into your village’s bingo book. Which shinobi village are you from anyway? I’ve never heard of shinobi midgets before,” Yoshimaru asked with a curious look on his face.

_‘He’s a jonin, I can’t afford to hold back or I’ll die!’_

“I’m not a shinobi,” I said as I pointed my wakizashi at him.

“I’m a samurai!” I declared as I mentally swapped my outfit for the White Rabbit Set because wearing an unhygienic blood-stained outfit was better than getting killed.

**|[ You are now wearing Outfit: White Rabbit Set. The additional effects of The White Rabbit Set has been activated. +3 to all stats, +10% movement speed, +10% evasion ]|**

_‘He’s better trained, has more experience and can somehow match my speed while in ACS. The longer this fight goes on, the higher the chances of me getting killed. I have to end this as soon as possible. Gamer System, activate CEM!’_

**|[ Chakra-Enhanced Muscles activated. CEM utilizes 20 CP per second. ]|**

"Wait, _you're_ the demon that my men were so afraid of? Pffft, to think that they fell for a simple Transformation Jutsu, I guess that's all the jutsu that you samurai are capable of," the ninja mocked.

Ignoring his taunt, I sprinted forward with the +30% movement speed buff, my Agility stats doubling to 43 from 20 due to the addition of the White Rabbit Set and CEM (+20 Strength, +20 Agility, +20% movement speed).

Crossing the twenty feet between us in a heartbeat, I executed a cross slash by swinging my wakizashi to the left and tanto to the right. Yoshimaru lowered his rapier diagonally in front of him and blocked both my chakra blades.

_‘Man, this guy is so tall, even his knees are above my head!’_

Noticing that his rapier lacked a guard, I quickly swung my wakizashi upwards along the rapier while I retracted my tanto. Realizing that I was attempting to cut off his fingers, the jonin hurriedly spun his rapier in a circular motion to redirect the momentum of my blade away from his hand.

Aiming to create an opening, I feigned a thrust with the tanto in my left hand toward his left foot as I withdrew my wakizashi. As Yoshimaru positioned his rapier to block my tanto, I abruptly reversed my thrust and instead swung my wakizashi at his rapier with an extended right hand.

Knowing that his rapier was already in place to block my blow, he took the opportunity to aim a kick at me with his right leg. As my wakizashi neared his rapier, I deactivated my chakra blade.

**|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|**

As my wakizashi was too short to make contact with his rapier, it simply passed through the empty space between his rapier and my blade. When my wakizashi aimed past his rapier, I reactivated my chakra blade.

**|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|**

The chakra blade sprung forth, giving my short sword an extra two feet in length. As his right leg made contact with my torso, the chakra blade from my wakizashi sliced through the calf on his left leg as my 52 Strength stats did its job.

“Oof!” I involuntarily said as his kick knocked all the air out of my lungs and I was launched away from Yoshimaru, skidding painfully along the coarse surface of the crab shell. Plunging my tanto downwards, my chakra blade cut a four-foot-long gash in the crab shell as I halted my momentum.

“Arghhh my leg! I’m going to kill you slowly, you midget bastard. I’ll hang you up by your entrails while you watch me kill your clients,” the jonin yelled as he waved his rapier at me while struggling to get up. Eventually, he stood up on his right leg while balancing his body weight with his rapier.

“Clients? What do you mean?” I asked as I got up and abruptly ran at him before he could form a reply.

_‘Pfft, only an idiot would converse during a fight to the death.’_

Deciding to double down on my latest trick, I alternatively swung my wakizashi and thrust my tanto at him one after the other, continuously deactivating and reactivating my chakra blades on both weapons as I did so. My combo attack forced him to hop backwards on one foot as he attempted to retreat from my flurry of blades.

**|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|**

**|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|**

**|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|**

**|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|**

**|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|**

**|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|**

**|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|**

**|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|**

**|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|**

**|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|**

**|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|**

**|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|**

It was hard defending against both sword swings and thrusts. Doing so successfully was further complicated when against an opponent who was barely as tall as your knees. I imagined that the frustration Yoshimaru currently felt was similar to what the Sith underwent as they fought someone like Yoda.

Unfortunately for the lanky jonin before me, successfully parrying and dodging my attacks while hopping around on one leg proved futile as the chakra blade from my tanto pierced into his right knee.

Not giving him a chance to counterattack, I withdrew my tanto as I sidestepped to the right and ran behind him as he fell down on his side. As he spun his head around to look at me, I thrust the chakra blade from my wakizashi in between his eyes and a popup appeared.

**|[ You have killed a shinobi [Grade: C]. ]|**

_‘Phew, I did it!’_

**|[ Chakra Blade deactivated (x2). ]|**

**|[ Assisted Combat System deactivated. ]|**

**|[ Chakra-Enhanced Muscles deactivated. ]|**

“Oi brat!” a loud voice boomed out.

Quickly glancing around, I failed to spot anyone.

“What are you looking around for? I’m right here!” the loud voice said in an annoyed tone.

Looking around once more, I noticed two pillars moving left and right. Turning my gaze upwards, I was greeted by the sight of two large crab eyes looking down at me.

_‘That’s not a pillar, it’s his eye-stalk!’_

“How did you manage to summon me when the crabs don’t have a summoner?” the giant crab asked in a curious tone.

“Uhhh, I didn’t. He did,” I said as I kicked the body in front of me, causing some blood to squirt out of the hole in the dead ninja's forehead.

“Strange, I don’t recognize him at all. Oh well, no point dwelling on something that’s already occurred. Hmmm, you fought well against an opponent four times your size, just like a crab. What’s your name, brat?” the crab said as its eyes approached me from my left and right.

“Erm, I’m Genji. Amano Genji,” I replied as I nervously swallowed some saliva.

“And what shinobi clan are you a descendant of, Genji-gaki?” the crab asked.

_‘Did he seriously just call me Genji-brat?’_

“I’m not a shinobi, I’m a samurai,” I explained for the second time today.

“Oh? A samurai? You seem to have quite a bit of chakra for a samurai. Are you familiar with the summoning jutsu that the shinobi use?” the crab asked.

“I do know what that jutsu is but I’ve never attempted it before. Erm, before we continue our conversation, may I please ask what your name is, crab-san?” I asked.

“I am Mitsukani, the Chief Crab! You may call me Mitsukani-sama, Genji-gaki,” the crab replied with a pleased tone, as if saying his own name out loud brought him joy. Or maybe he simply enjoys calling me brat, ugh.

“Please to meet you Mitsukani err, sama. Could you please return me to the ground before you go back to Crab Country, I don’t think I’ll survive a fall from this height,” I nervously requested.

“It’s the Land of Crabs not Crab Country, Genji-gaki. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, it has been quite a while since us crabs have had a summoner. The last one was over a hundred years ago, when I was a mere larva,” Mitsukani mused to himself.

“Alright, I’ve decided. Genji-gaki you fight like a crab, defeating opponents much larger than yourself. I like that. Sign the crab summoning contract,” the Chief Crab said as another crab suddenly appeared before me in a puff of smoke.

_‘Uhh, what?’_

This new crab had a dark grey and brown shell and while much smaller than the Chief Crab, was still a solid eight feet tall and thirty-five feet wide.

“Yes, Chief? Why did you summon me?” the new crab asked as he turned his eye-stalks to face the larger eye-stalks beside him.

“Hand over our summoning contract to the gaki in front of you. He is our new summoner,” Mitsukani said.

_‘Don’t I get a say in this? Do I even want a crab summons? Actually, it would be rather nice to have a giant crab on my side when fighting against the Rabbit King.’_

“What? This runt? Isn’t he just a baby?” the smaller crab asked in an offended tone.

“That baby gaki just killed a shinobi four times his size. He fights like a true crab! Give him the summoning contract to sign, Harukani-kun,” the Chief Crab ordered.

_‘Argh, he just demoted me to baby brat!’_

“Yes, Chief. Here you go Baby-gaki, you should be honored. You’ll be the Fourth Crab Summoner or Yondaime if you’d prefer,” Harukani said as he opened his mouth wide and extracted a large scroll from somewhere inside with his claw. Miraculously, the scroll was not dripping in crab saliva or stomach juices.

Placing the scroll that was larger than I was on the ground, Harukani then unrolled the scroll revealing three names with a set of fingerprints underneath each name.

“Uhhh, before I sign this summoning contract, may I ask if crabs are good at combat? No disrespect intended, I just don’t need a healing summons or anything like that,” I nervously asked.

The Chief Crab’s boisterous laughter was like the sound of thunder, the vibrations shaking me so violently that the blood on my wakizashi simply flew off as if it were a dog shaking itself dry after a bath.

“You’re hilarious, Genji-gaki! I have not laughed so hard in a long time. Of all things, he thinks that we’re healers. Did you hear his joke Harukani-san? Healing crabs!” Mitsukani laughed and continued laughing for another two minutes.

“We are a combat-focused summons, Baby-gaki. We even fight each other when we’re bored. While we don’t fight each other with the intent to kill, accidents do occur from time to time. I suppose you could say that crabs are battle maniacs,” Harukani explained with a smirk.

“My name is Genji, Amano Genji. Not Baby-gaki,” I huffed as I moved towards the summoning contract. “Erm, I don’t have a pen on me at the moment. Could I please borrow a pen, Harukani-san?”

Once again, the thunderous roar of the Mitsukani’s laughter filled the air.

“A pen! Oh, you’re too funny Genji-gaki,” the Chief Crab said while trying to catch his breath so he could resume his laughter.

“You sign the summoning contract with your blood, _Baby-gaki_,” Harukani explained, the smirk still present on his face.

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” I replied sheepishly.

Sheathing my wakizashi over my right shoulder, I then transferred my tanto to my right hand and pricked my left ring finger. Couldn’t risk an injury on my thumb, index or middle finger as those were the most important when wielding a blade, Kaa-san had taught us.

Kneeling down, I placed the tanto on the ground. Writing my name on the scroll with my left ring finger, I then rubbed some blood on the fingertips of my right hand before imprinting five blood-stained fingerprints on the summoning contract.

**|[ You have acquired the Crab Summoning Contract. You may now summon crabs with the Summoning Jutsu. ]|**

“Congratulations Baby-gaki, you are now the Yondaime Summoner of the Crabs!” Harukani announced.

“My name is Genji, Amano Genji!” I exasperatedly said.

“Of course it is. See you around, Baby-gaki!” Harukani laughed as he disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

“Wait! How do I even do the summoning jutsu?” I hurriedly asked.

“Oh, that’s simple. The sequence is boar, dog, bird, monkey and ram,” the Chief Crab said as he leaned forward, causing me to slide towards the crab cliff before me.

“AHHHHH!” I shouted as my tanto flew past me. Reaching out to grab it with my right hand at the last moment, my eyes widened as I ran out of crab shell and proceeded to fall to my doom.

A giant crab claw suddenly appeared below me, dropping to match my speed before it halted my fall and I was gently lowered onto the ground. As I looked around with wide eyes, I saw the body of the jonin fall past me, his rapier following soon after. When looking at it from this distance, his rapier sort of looked like a really big needle.

“GENJI-KUN!” Kiyoko’s voice screamed out as my feet touched the ground.

Turning around, I saw Kiyoko running up to me. Behind her stood my sisters and Tou-san while Kaa-san and my three grandparents were presumably still inside the wagons. I was then bombarded with popups, as if I had just clicked on a dodgy website without an ad blocker.

**|[ You have discovered Chakra Blade Flicker. ]|**

**|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|**

**|[ You have completed the Quest: Survive The Bandit Attack. +10 Points ]|**

**|[ You have fulfilled a hidden objective of the Quest: Survive The Bandit Attack. +11 Points ]|**

**|[ Title: Best Brother Ever has been upgraded to The Favorite Amano. +1 to all stats when in close proximity to any of your family members. ]|**

Swapping my outfit for my kendo armor so Kiyoko didn’t hug dried blood, I removed my helmet and was soon wrapped up in a tight hug, the metal grill on her kendo helmet feeling cold against my face. After Kiyoko released me, I returned my tanto to its sheath on my lower back.

**|[ You are now wearing Outfit: Kendo Armor. ]|**

“Who’s your friend, Genji-kun,” Tou-san asked as I realized that the Chief Crab was peering at us curiously.

“Ah, that’s right. Mitsukani-sama, this is my family. Everyone, this is the Chief Crab from the Land of Crabs, Mitsukani-sama. He asked me to sign the Crab Summoning Contract, so I did,” I explained.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Misukani-san. I am Genji-kun’s father, Amano Takeshi,” Tou-san greeted.

“Hello Takeshi-san, it is nice to meet the gaki’s family. I see you have a large family for a human, that’s nice. I too come from a large family, though my two hundred thousand family members are currently back in the Land of Crabs so I can’t introduce them,” Mitsukani replied.

_‘Two hundred thousand!? Just how big is the Land of Crabs? What do they even eat? Where does all the shit go?’_

“If you ever need the Crabs for a fight, don’t hesitate to summon us Genji-gaki. The size of the summons depends on how much chakra you use. Goodbye Yondaime,” the Chief Crab mentioned before he too disappeared in a giant puff of white smoke.

“Wait, what do the hand seals… look like,” I asked as the smoke started to dissipate.

“I don’t see any rabbits around, Genji-kun,” Tou-san said.

_‘Battle Dungeon Status!’_

**|[ You are not currently within a Battle Dungeon. Do you wish to enter Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits? ]|**

_‘What? Then where are we?’_

“Err, apparently we’re not in a Battle Dungeon right now, Tou-san,” I said as I mentally dismissed the request.

“We’re not? Do you have a teleportation ability Genji-kun?” Tou-san asked.

_‘Do I?’_

**|[ Teleportation is not currently listed in your list of skills. ]|**

_‘Currently? Ooh, so there _is_ a teleportation ability! Nice, can’t wait to learn that one.’_

“No Tou-san, no teleportation abilities yet,” I replied.

“In that case I have no idea where we currently are, Genji-kun,” Tou-san said as he turned around and walked towards the body that was lying on the forest floor, the needle-like rapier sticking out of the ground nearby.

The rest of my siblings also moved towards the body to inspect it so I followed along while being flanked by Rumi and Kiyoko on my left and right.

“Was he a shinobi, Genji-kun? I saw him doing hand seals,” Rumi asked.

“Yes, he mentioned that he was from Kirigakure,” I replied.

“What’s a Land of Water shinobi doing in the Land of Fire? We should ask Tou-san to inform Konoha, they wouldn’t appreciate such things,” Rumi said.

“Was he strong, Genji-kun?” Kiyoko asked.

“Yes, he moved very fast and could match my speed. The only reason I won was because he underestimated me and it’s quite hard to fight someone as small as me when he’s that tall. Also, I never gave him the chance to attack, he was constantly forced to defend,” I replied with my post-fight analysis.

_‘This fight has shown me that I need to be faster. I probably have to go with a more generalist approach to my stats from now on. Alright, let’s assign those stats now. Status!’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 20**

**Title: The Favorite Amano (1)**

**HP: 980 / 1,160**

**CP: 38 / 1,640**

**STR: 28 (+1)**

**AGI: 20 (+1)**

**VIT: 39 (+1)**

**INT: 40 (+1)**

**WIS: 39 (+1)**

**Points: 21**

**Experience: 39.86% to next level**

_‘Whoa, that stupid kick took out nearly 200 HP? And I almost ran out of CP again! Sigh. Alright, let’s place 13 into Agility, 5 into Strength, 2 into Vitality and the last one into Wisdom.’_

**Name: Amano Genji**

**Level: 20**

**Title: The Favorite Amano (1)**

**HP: 980 / 1,428**

**CP: 39 / 1,722**

**STR: 33 (+1)**

**AGI: 33 (+1)**

**VIT: 41 (+1)**

**INT: 40 (+1)**

**WIS: 40 (+1)**

**Points: 0**

**Experience: 39.86% to next level**

_‘Although I seem to get lots of Points from completing Quests, I do need to keep leveling up as my CEM skill gets stronger the higher my level.’_

“Did he mention what his name was, Genji-kun?” Tou-san asked as he looked at me while standing beside the body.

“He said that his name was Kuriarare Yoshimaru, a former jonin of Kirigakure,” I replied.

Tou-san’s jaw dropped open as his eyes went wide.

“Err, is everything alright Tou-san?” I asked.

“He’s the younger brother of Kuriarare Kushimaru, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist,” Tou-san replied after he managed to compose himself, crouching to search the body.

“Oh, I’ve read about them. They are the greatest blade-wielding shinobi of their generation in the Hidden Mist Village, said to be the strongest shinobi there other than the Mizukage,” Naoko recounted.

“Each of them also wield swords with special abilities,” Misaki added as she turned around to look the rapier sticking out of the ground, “and that must be the sword named Nuibari. But why does the younger brother of one of the Seven Swordsmen have it?”

“According to one of the shinobi-san from Konoha, a shinobi of theirs by the name of Maito Dai singlehandedly killed four of the Seven Swordsmen a few years ago. This Yoshimaru probably stole Nuibari before he left his village, becoming a missing-nin,” Tou-san said.

“That Konoha shinobi must have been really strong to be able to kill more than half of the Seven Swordsmen by himself, I would like to meet him Tou-san,” Rumi said, her voice filled with admiration.

"Unfortunately Rumi-chan, Maito Dai was also killed in the process," Tou-san said.

"Oh," Rumi replied sadly.

“How do you know so much, Naoko-neechan and Misaki-neechan?” Kiyoko asked curiously.

“Because they read a lot and Misaki-chan specifically likes reading about swords,” Tsuki replied.

“So this sword called Nuibari, what is its special ability Misaki-neechan?” I asked.

“While its not a fact, the author of one of the books I read speculated that it has an unrivaled piercing ability. Combined with a special spool of thread, the user can literally stitch the bodies of its victims together, which is why it resembles a giant needle,” Misaki replied.

“What a disturbing ability. Is that why it doesn’t have a guard? Needles require full penetration and a guard would impede that ability. But I don’t see any thread though,” I said.

“There’s a spool of wire here,” Tou-san said as he lifted up an item that looked like it belonged on a fishing rod.

“Could I have it?” Misaki asked with a hopeful tone.

“What are you going to do with the 'special thread' Misaki-chan?” Tou-san asked as he handed her the item that was wrapped in silvery wire.

“I meant Nuibari, Tou-san,” Misaki said with a giggle.

“Oh, you should ask Genji-kun as he was the one who killed this shinobi,” Tou-san replied as he looked at me.

“Sure, Misaki-neechan. I can’t effectively use a five feet long sword anyway,” I said.

“THANKS, GENJI-KUN!” Misaki shouted happily as she pulled Nuibari out of the ground and started swinging it around a few times before stabbing a tree. The needle sword effortlessly pierced through the tree trunk which led to gleeful laughter from Misaki as she excitedly did tippy taps with her feet.

"I would like to have the next special sword, Genji-kun," Sakamae requested as she watched Misaki use Nuibari to stab holes in the trees around us.

"Oh, sure Sakamae-neechan," I replied.

“I think I know where Kiyoko-chan gets her excitedness from,” Rumi said.

“I don’t think so, Misaki-chan only gets excited about swords and things that she considers cute whereas Kiyoko-chan seems to be excited about everything,” Tsuki replied with a thoughtful look.

“Hey, I don’t get excited about _everything_,” Kiyoko protested.

“You’re the only other than Ojii-san who gets excited about miso soup,” Naoko replied with a giggle.

“That’s not true, Genji-kun loves miso soup too. Right, Genji-kun?” Kiyoko replied as she looked at me with her big puppy eyes through the grill of her kendo helmet.

“While I like miso soup, I do think that you seem to get excited about everything, Kiyoko-chan,” I said as Kiyoko’s hopeful face fell, “but there’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone gets excited about the things that they like, you just happen to like everything.” 

“Not everything, but thanks anyway Genji-kun,” Kiyoko replied as she gave me another hug which I returned.

“Misaki-chan is right, you two are really cute,” Naoko said with another giggle.

“Other than a few kunai and shuriken, there’s nothing else on this body,” Tou-san replied as he detached the weapons pouch and kunai holster before handing them to me for storage.

_‘Oh cool, kunai and shurikens. Now that I have all the basic equipment of a ninja, I simply need to learn what hand seals are so that I can do the Summoning Jutsu.’_

“Alright, let’s leave this forest and find out where we are. I smell the ocean in that direction, so let’s head that way,” Tou-san said as he pointed to his left, "if we follow the coast, I'm certain that we will find a small town or village where we can ask for directions."

Pulling out a storage scroll, Tou-san then sealed the ninja's body into it before pocketing the scroll. Looking around to see if he had missed anything, Tou-san then said, "Alright, get to your assigned wagons. We're leaving!"

“Ok, Tou-san,” we replied.

Making our way back towards the three horse-drawn wagons, I realized that I had read something interesting in one of the popup boxes that had appeared.

_‘Gamer System, what’s Chakra Blade Flicker?’_

**|[ Chakra Blade Flicker: Your chakra blade alternates between activation and deactivation twice per second. Chakra Blade Flicker utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|**

_‘Oh wow, I invented a new skill.’_

“Genji-kun, are you injured?” Kaa-san asked worriedly as I climbed into the back of the wagon.

“No, Kaa-san,” I replied.

“Oh thank Kami, I was so worried when that giant crab appeared out of nowhere,” Kaa-san said as she hugged me.

“Our son just killed a missing-nin from Kirigakure, a jonin too,” Tou-san replied as he lifted Kiyoko up into our wagon, Rumi patiently waiting her turn beside him.

“Oh, I’m so proud of you Genji-kun, not many samurai are capable of killing a jonin ranked shinobi,” Kaa-san said as she released me from the hug before giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“He underestimated me Kaa-san. I guess no one really expects a one-year-old to move as fast as I do,” I replied as I wiped my cheek against my shoulder before swapping my kendo armor for a t-shirt and shorts.

**|[ You are now wearing Outfit: Casual Attire (T-Shirt). ]|**

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing that Genji-kun,” Kaa-san said.

“It’s just another aspect of my storage space ability, Kaa-san,” I replied as I laid down on a pillow from the playroom. I had stored all the pillows in the house inside my Inventory, from the ones in the playroom to the ones in the bedrooms.

My family also had me store away their entire wardrobes, their jewelry, their books and other miscellaneous items. Everything that was too large to be stored in my Inventory had been sealed away into storage scrolls, which then went into my Inventory or if the storage scrolls were too big to fit, they were placed into the third wagon. Our house was pretty much empty at the moment, Kaa-san even had me store away all the cooking pots and pans.

As I was currently facing the back of my wagon, I lifted my head and saw that Misaki held the reins of the wagon behind ours, my three grandparents seated behind her while Naoko held the reins of the last wagon, the twins seated beside large storage scrolls.

After ensuring that everyone was ready, Tou-san led our entourage towards the direction of the ocean. Navigating through the forest was a slow and bumpy affair, the wheels of the wagon constantly having to go over tree roots.

_'I hope Ojii-san isn’t suffering too much with all this bouncing.’_

Closing my eyes, I tried to sleep through the constant up and down movements. I needed to sleep for an hour in order to fully restore my HP and CP, just in case we needed to fight more bandits or ninjas.

* * *

Over fifteen miles away in a small village set on a hill, a group of people were gathered inside a small house with a thatched roof.

“What do we do?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? You’re the Village Elder, knowing what to do is literally your job!”

“Calm down Tadahiko-san, the Village Elder is only a human being just like everyone else. You can’t expect him to know everything.”

Silence descended upon the room, the buzzing noise that the cicadas made could be clearly heard through the open window.

“All I know is that we have to do something as this situation can’t continue for much longer. I just don’t know what exactly it is that we have to do. Does anyone have any suggestions?” the Village Elder asked with a somber tone and a stoic expression on his face.

“We could move away,” a middle-aged man said.

“To where? Everyone in this room was born right here in this village. This is our ancestral home, we can’t just abandon it!” Tadahiko angrily replied.

“Enough, Tadahiko-san. If you cannot keep your temper in check then you are no longer welcome at this meeting,” the Village Elder sternly said.

“HOW CAN ALL OF YOU BE SO CALM WHEN WE ARE ABOUT TO DIE! DO YOU PEOPLE EVEN REALIZE WHAT’S ABOUT TO HAPPEN?” Tadahiko shouted.

“Raigorou-san and Dainosuke-san, escort Tadahiko-san out of this meeting,” the Village Eder ordered.

“I’ll leave by myself. You old farts are going to get us all killed!” Tadahiko angrily muttered as he stomped out the door.

“Ahh Elder-sama, please forgive my son. He is youthful and passionate but he does not mean any offense,” an elderly man said.

“His reaction is understandable considering the circumstances, Fujimori-san. No offense taken,” the Village Elder said after a long sigh.

“Maybe we could hire shinobi?” another middle-aged man suggested.

“And what exactly are we going to hire them with, Aoharu-san? We barely have any gold left as we have not sold our crops in several years,” an elderly woman rebutted.

“How about samurai? They are righteous and noble warriors, surely they will assist us once they have heard of our plight?” Aoharu asked with a hopeful tone.

“That is a myth Aoharu-san. Samurai are people just like everyone else, they will not do things for free,” the Village Elder said.

“Perhaps Aoharu-san has the right idea. While samurai do not do things for free, they are more open-minded than shinobi when it comes to payment. Perhaps some samurai might assist us if we pay them in something other than gold,” a middle-aged woman suggested.

“What are you suggesting, Hisane-san?” the Village Elder enquired.

“While we are lacking in gold, we do not lack rice. Perhaps we can find a few hungry samurai to assist us,” Hisane suggested.

“It is highly unlikely that we will find a hungry samurai who serves the Fire Shogun, which means that we’ll have to look for wandering samurai or ronin. That is the equivalent of searching for a tiny white pebble in a sack of rice,” Fujimori noted.

“Well, what else do you suggest Fujimori-san?” Aoharu huffed.

“I did not disagree with Hisane-san’s idea, Aoharu-san. I was merely pointing out the potential difficulties involved. Ronin can be rather unpredictable too, seeing as they are homeless samurai without a master,” Fujimori replied.

“Which means that they are more likely to be hungry,” Hisane said with a smile.

“And therefore, they might be more agreeable to assisting us,” Aoharu added, a smile also forming on his face.

“While this suggestion sounds plausible, who is going to go searching for ronin? We only have slightly more than a month left until the harvest. Those bandit scum said that they would take our women and kill everyone else if we didn’t give them enough rice this time,” the Village Elder said, a weary look on his face.

“We should send a strong young man like my son,” Fujimori suggested.

“Tadahiko-san? Knowing his short temper, the ronin might end up killing him because he insulted them. No, we need someone with a polite demeanor, someone that the ronin would be more likely to help,” Aoharu said.

“What about your granddaughter, Village Elder? She has a polite demeanor and is quite pretty. I’m sure the ronin would agree to help us if she was the one who was making the request,” Hisane suggested.

“Izumi-chan? Absolutely not! She is my only living family member, I will not put her in harm’s way,” the Village Elder obstinately said.

“If we fail to locate ronin that are willing to help us, she’s as good as dead anyway. No woman wants to be taken alive by these bandits, I’ve heard that they cut out your tongue and cauterize it with a hot iron to prevent you from committing suicide. Then they rape you non-stop till the day that you die,” Hisane said with a shudder.

“That is unfortunately quite accurate. Some of the younger women in the village have already decided that they would rather commit suicide than be taken by these bandits. To them, death is preferable to being a sex slave,” the Village Elder said with a sad tone while thinking of his granddaughter.

“What if we send Tadahiko-san and Izumi-san together? That way he can carry the sacks of rice while she talks to the ronin,” Fujimori suggested as he once again volunteered his son.

“That sounds like a good idea, Fujimori-san,” Hisane said with a nod.

“What does everyone here think?” the Village Elder finally relented after a long pause.

After agreements from the rest of the people that were gathered, and further deliberations on the amount of rice to offer the ronin in exchange for their assistance against the bandits, the Village Elder finally concluded the meeting.

“Alright, Tadahiko-san and Izumi-chan will take eight sacks of rice on a cart and search for ronin that are willing to help us. They are to return before the harvest begins. If they fail, then we will most likely die of starvation this coming winter,” the Village Elder summarized.

Everyone present nodded in agreement and proceeded to exit the Village Elder’s house.

_‘If I’m being honest with myself, the ronin are just as likely as the bandits to rape Izumi-chan. After all, she is as pretty as my daughter-in-law once was,’_ the Village Elder sadly thought to himself.

“Izumi-chan!” the Village Elder called out loudly as he stood in his doorway.

“Yes, Ojii-san?” Izumi replied as she walked over from the village well while carrying a full bucket of water with both hands.

“Come inside, Izumi-chan. There's something that we need to discuss,” the Village Elder said with a neutral tone of voice.

“Ok, Ojii-san. Did I do something wrong?” Izumi asked as she carried the heavy wooden bucket inside, intending to use the water to cook a vegetable broth.

“No, you have done nothing wrong, Izumi-chan,” the Village Elder replied as he closed the door after she had entered the house, a resigned look on his face.


	18. Chapter 18

**~~ 3 Weeks Later ~~**

Peeking my right eye around the tree trunk, I checked on the target. Good, we were still undetected. We had been very careful about remaining downwind from the target so that our scent wouldn’t alert it.

Turning my head, I gave a thumbs up to Misaki who was hiding behind a tree to our right. Misaki nodded and proceeded to sneak towards a tree that was closer to the target. Rumi and Kiyoko were currently crouched beside me while Sakamae was hiding behind a tree to the left of us.

The five of us were currently hunting a lone deer, its antlers indicating it as a male of the species. It probably weighed between 80 and 90 pounds which was enough meat to feed us for about a week. As we didn’t have any rice for carbohydrates, we had shifted to eating protein to compensate.

After arriving in this unknown land, we had yet to meet a single person. The first night here had been a bit rough as Tou-san had insisted on travelling about ten miles or so along the beach before finally deciding to set up a temporary camp for a late lunch.

He had chosen an area inside the forest, about a hundred feet or so from the sandy beach. After eating the onigiri which I had stored inside my Inventory the night before, we had then spent the afternoon cutting down trees and creating a makeshift wall around the three wagons which we had arranged in a roughly triangular shape.

With a small campfire in the middle of the three wagons, Tou-san then decided that we should try to settle in for the night. As no one had really felt like sleeping on the ground, most of us had slept inside the wagons. Tou-san had unsealed one of Ojii-san’s rattan chairs and had slept on that chair next to the fire.

The following day, Tou-san had taken Naoko with him on horseback to explore the surrounding area. The rest of us set about making our camp a little more comfortable. I had suggested hammocks for beds, which my sisters had readily agreed to. After all, sleeping inside the limited confines of a wagon wasn’t very comfortable.

After two hours spent exploring our surroundings, Tsuki had located a suitable area about half a mile inland from our camp site. After leaving a note pinned to a tree for Tou-san and Naoko that included directions to our new camp site, we shifted everyone over to the new location.

There was a river nearby for drinking water and the trees in that location were closer to each other, which allowed us to set up hammocks tied to four trees instead of the traditional two. We had used our bed linen to create the hammocks, one for each of my siblings and I.

My parents and our three grandparents had declined to sleep in hammocks, saying that they were more comfortable sleeping inside the wagons. After cutting down some of the surrounding trees, we set up a wall made of wooden logs.

I had been forced to use Chakra-Enhanced Muscles to place some of these tree logs in position as they were extremely heavy. We had stacked the wooden walls in a pyramid shape, placing several stakes into the ground to prevent the logs from rolling away or towards us.

We had managed to build about a quarter of the wall around our new campsite before Tou-san arrived back with Naoko. They had traveled further along the beach for another twenty miles but had failed to spot a single person. It seems that the coast that we were currently on was uninhabited.

Over the next week or so, my siblings and I finished building the wall of wooden logs, leaving two entrances: one facing the river and the other on the opposite end facing the direction of the ocean. We hoped that the four-foot high wall was enough of a deterrent against wild animals, especially the black bears that we had spotted on our second week.

After informing Kaa-san of the black bears, she had insisted that we place outward-facing wooden spikes along the outer area of the wall just in case. This task took us three days to accomplish as we first had to cut down some trees down before crafting sharp sticks out of its branches.

We liberally used our chakra blades for these construction tasks as no one wanted to blunt their blades on tree trunks. After two weeks, Tou-san had given up on scouting the surrounding area, saying that his time was better spent improving our campsite.

Tou-san, Naoko and Tsuki had formed the Construction Team, reinforcing the wooden logs with twigs and dirt, in effect creating a six-feet tall wall that looked very much like a beaver dam. Kaori-obaasan had placed several detection seals throughout the forest, setting up an outer perimeter that was capable of detecting intruders up to fifty feet away.

After a week, the food in my Inventory had begun to run low. After informing my family of this, Tou-san decided that we should start hunting for food. We had spotted deer and rabbits intermittently throughout the forest, so we decided to hunt those.

Ojii-san had finally conceded his position on the consumption of meat, citing necessity. That first meal of rabbit was the best meat I had ever eaten. It was a good thing that Kaa-san had me store away all the herbs and spices from the kitchen pantry.

Having recovered from her chakra exhaustion, Kaa-san assisted my two grandmothers in the preparation of meals, forming the Cooking Team. For herbs, Kaa-san had taught the Food Gathering Team which consisted of Misaki, Sakamae, Rumi, Kiyoko and I how to gather wild herbs such as tsukushi which grew along the riverbanks or shiso and fukinoto which grew on the forest floor. We occasionally gathered wild berries for the horses to eat, just to give them a break from eating grass.

For salt, we were told to collect seawater in buckets, sieving the water by pouring it through one of Tou-san’s old shirts into a large pot. We would repeatedly sieve the water to remove any sand or other impurities before placing the pot over the campfire to boil. Once the water had mostly evaporated, we would dry the slurry white remnants in the sun and collect the salt once it was fully dry. This salt collection process took two days to complete.

The Food Gathering Team would wake up early in the morning and head to the river, spending a few hours fishing with a stick that had its sharpened end split into four. I would stand on the riverbank and spear the fish that swam near, using ACS to ensure that my pointy stick successfully pierced the fish.

Misaki and Sakamae would then remove the fish scales with fillet knives before handing the fish to Rumi and Kiyoko who would then gut the fish, letting its guts fall into the river which also served to attract more fish to our location. I would then store the processed fish in my Inventory.

Once we had processed the fish, we would then return to the camp and I would give Kaa-san six of the fish, which was enough to feed the twelve of us for lunch and any leftovers would be eaten for tea. After resting for half an hour after lunch, the Food Gathering Team would then go rabbit hunting.

There was a large colony of brown rabbits nearby, about a mile away from our campsite. Kaa-san had warned us not to cut or spear the rabbits as the contents of its colon or innards would contaminate the meat. As such, I had simply used ACS to grab the rabbits before shifting them into my Inventory. When Tou-san discovered what we were doing, he taught us how to build a simple rabbit trap with a few small sticks and some wire, using fruit as bait.

After catching the rabbits, we would return to the river where we would kill the rabbit on a flat piece of wood by cutting off its head. We then cut off its tail before removing its skin and fur similar to how one would remove a glove from one’s hand: just pull it off.

Kaa-san had shown us how to set aside the rabbit’s heart, kidneys and liver as these were edible. We emptied the rest of its innards into the river, in effect feeding the fish. Kaa-san had informed us to dispose of any liver that wasn’t a deep red in color as that meant that it was inedible.

I would then store the semi-processed rabbits into my Inventory before returning to our campsite where Kaa-san and my grandmothers would then cook the rabbits for our dinner. We would throw the rabbit heads, ears and tails into the campfire as its fat content served as fuel.

Although it took some convincing, Kaa-san had finally managed to persuade everyone and by everyone I mostly mean my four older sisters that we weren’t allowed to use soap and shampoo as we only had limited amounts. Kaa-san suggested that they all cut their hair short, offering to let her hair be cut first. Tou-san proceeded to cut off Kaa-san’s long hair with his tanto before digging a hole and burying it, explaining to us that burnt hair smelled bad.

My older sisters had very reluctantly decided to cut their hair for practical reasons. All four of my older sisters screamed and cried when Kaa-san cut their long hair above the shoulders. Sigh, girls. When it was their turns, Rumi had a neutral expression and Kiyoko somehow looked excited. Perhaps she simply couldn’t wait to look like all her other sisters and her Kaa-san.

After an early dinner we would head towards the river and bathe as a family excluding Ojii-san, who was still bedridden and given sponge baths by Kaori-obaasan. We would scrub ourselves as thoroughly as possible with a rough sponge which functioned as a loofah, letting the freshwater from the river wash away all the sweat and dirt that we had accumulated throughout the day.

I would bathe with Tou-san while my grandmothers, Kaa-san and my six sisters would bathe about sixty feet away, presumably for modesty purposes. We would usually finish bathing as the sun was setting, returning to our campsite via the light of flaming torches that we had constructed out of a long piece of wood with dried leaves tied to its end that was dipped in cooking oil, the only flammable liquid that I had in my Inventory.

If we had time, the Three Musketeers would play on the riverbank as Kiyoko loved combining dirt with her building blocks to build a tall tower. I would wash the wooden blocks in the river before storing them back inside my Inventory.

Our diet had changed drastically from three weeks ago. While we previously ate rice and vegetables, we now had to severely ration our dwindling supply of rice. As such, our diet now consisted almost exclusively of fish and rabbit meat with the occasional vegetable soup if the Food Gathering Team managed to collect enough kombu or kelp from the beach.

And so, our family slowly but surely adapted to our daily routines in this strange new land. We would wake up, the Food Gathering Team would gather food, the Construction Team would continue improving our campsite and the Cooking Team would cook food throughout the day. We would eat lunch and dinner as a family while breakfast was eaten separately as each Team awoke at different times. Then we would have our daily baths in the ocean before retiring to the camp for the night.

As there wasn’t that much to do since reading with the flame from the campfire was torture on the eyes, we spent our nights talking around the campfire as a family. We discussed many things while we each sat in one of Ojii-san’s rattan chairs around the campfire, everything from what percentage of gross profit spent on advertising was the most cost effective to the best way to grow potatoes.

Last night we had discussed a family secret: Kaori-obaasan’s history. It turns out that Kaori-obaasan’s mother was an Uzumaki. Yes, the same Uzumaki as a certain blonde-haired boy from Konoha. Apparently, the main protagonist of this world was distantly related to my family. Cool.

Kaori-obaasan and Ojii-san had met when he traveled to the shinobi village of Uzushiogakure or the Village Hidden by Whirling Tides in order to sell the Amano family’s high-quality paper. The Amano family had just gotten into the paper manufacturing business and needed to build its business network which required Ojii-san to travel to Uzushio to meet with current as well as potential customers on a regular basis.

Over time they had fallen in love and eventually had gotten married in a lavish ceremony beside Uzushio’s main bridge which crossed the large river that ran throughout the shinobi village. Even the Head of the Uzumaki clan had been present at the wedding as Kaori-obaasan’s mother was a descendant of one of the more prominent Uzumaki families.

After their marriage, Kaori-obaasan had moved out of the island where the Land of Whirlpools was located, staying with Ojii-san on the mainland and settling down in the Capital of the Land of Fire. Some time before Tou-san was born, they had built the Amano family estate and moved there instead. Ojii-san explained that he had gotten jaded by all the corruption and greed within the Capital.

According to Kaori-obaasan, since Uzumaki clan members lived such long lives, every family had large numbers of children which meant that a household with eight children was considered average. Uzushio was therefore comprised of thousands of Uzumaki clan members with only a hundred or so non-Uzumaki present within the village. This being the case, Uzushio was led by the Head of the Uzumaki clan instead of a Kage.

The shinobi of Uzushio specialized in sealing techniques or fuinjutsu, the art of sealing living beings, objects and even chakra within another object, usually a sealing scroll. Uzushio shinobi were infamous for their use of barrier ninjutsu, storing highly complicated and very powerful barriers inside sealing scrolls and sometimes sealing tattoos on their bodies. The combination of barrier ninjutsu and fuinjutsu was called sealing barrier.

Barrier ninjutsu allowed one to erect a formidable barrier in order to protect themselves or to trap their opponents. As barriers required a painstakingly long time to prepare since they were so powerful, the ability to carry around barriers that could be deployed at a moment's notice meant that an Uzushio shinobi was a terrifying opponent.

Sealing barriers were also used by Uzushio shinobi to manipulate space on the battlefield: cutting off enemy reinforcements, isolating enemy leaders or creating choke points where none previously existed. This gave Uzushio shinobi an unparalleled strategic advantage, whether it be during a one-on-one fight or a large-scale battle between hundreds of shinobi.

Kaori-obaasan said that the most terrifying sealing barrier in existence was called Sealing Barrier: Genbu The Black Tortoise. It functioned by trapping enemies inside a black barrier that neither air nor light could travel through and was designed to constantly absorb chakra, neutralizing ninjutsu which made escape impossible.

The more chakra Genbu The Black Tortoise absorbed, the stronger the sealing barrier would become. Eventually, everyone inside the barrier would die due to having all of their chakra extracted. It was the very first technique of its kind and was created by Uzushio’s Fuinjutsu Research Centre.

Uzushio had only used this horrifying sealing barrier once: towards the end of the First Shinobi World War in order to avenge the death of Konoha’s First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. While Senju Hashirama was the leader of a shinobi village allied with Uzushio, the use of this particularly brutal sealing barrier was primarily due to him being married to the daughter of the Head of the Uzumaki clan.

It was said that as many as ten thousand shinobi and a hundred thousand civilians died inside the sealing barrier which was shaped like a giant box and covered approximately 10,000 square miles. I remembered that the Little Boy atomic bomb dropped on the city of Hiroshima during World War Two only destroyed 5 square miles. 10,000 square miles was larger than the U.S. state of Maryland.

Deployment of Genbu The Black Tortoise resulted in the deaths of the First Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, the First Raikage of Kumogakure and the First Mizukage of Kirigakure. Armies from these three shinobi villages as well as those from Sunagakure were in the midst of a large-scale battle when they were all ambushed by Uzushio’s sealing barrier.

While a large portion of Sunagakure’s forces were killed, the First Kazekage was not on the battlefield at the time. This led to deep-seated enmity between these four shinobi villages and Uzushio which also extended to Uzushio’s ally, Konoha. The four shinobi villages viewed both Uzushio and Konoha as being hypocrites that preached pacifism but were willing to employ techniques of mass destruction.

Genbu The Black Tortoise was considered a technique of mass destruction because the sealing barrier didn’t just absorb chakra, it also absorbed natural energy: a form of energy that existed in the atmosphere and in the earth. Once the sealing barrier had absorbed a certain amount of chakra and natural energy, it would trigger a massive chakra and natural energy explosion inside of it. The chakra and natural energy expelled by the explosion would once again be absorbed by the sealing barrier, repeating the process.

This absorption-explosion cycle would recur until there was no longer any chakra or natural energy left inside of the sealing barrier, after which the sealing barrier would dissipate as it now lacked an energy source to sustain it. When the sealing barrier finally dispelled, there was nothing left inside but dust and sand.

As such, deployment of Genbu The Black Tortoise directly resulted in the creation of a 10,000 square mile tract of desert in the Land of Wind which was previously covered in greenery. Over time, the desert would grow as the windy nature of the Land of Wind constantly distributed the sand around, ultimately converting the Land of Wind into a large desert.

Shortly after this sealing barrier was used, all Five Great Shinobi Countries hurriedly agreed to an armistice treaty as this was the first time in known history that someone had used a technique of mass destruction. I suppose it was similar to the Japanese surrendering during World War Two after witnessing the destruction caused by the atomic bombs dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Approximately two decades later, the combined forces of Iwagakure, Kumogakure and Kirigakure swept through Uzushiogakure in a surprise attack, kicking off the start of the Second Shinobi World War. Everyone in Uzushiogakure was killed, its buildings torn down and burnt to the ground with the only survivors being those that weren’t present inside the village at the time of the attack.

By the time Konoha’s forces arrived in Uzushio, there was nothing remaining but the burning remnants of a completely destroyed village. Tou-san thinks that Uzushio shinobi destroyed their own fuinjutsu knowledge so it wouldn’t fall into enemy hands and be used against its ally, Konoha.

Kaori-obaasan’s theory was that Iwagakure, Kumogakure and Kirigakure did not trust each other and had therefore agreed to destroy everything rather than loot the village for its fuinjutsu knowledge. This was because shortly after the joint attack on Uzushio, the three shinobi villages had declared war on each other.

Ojii-san’s theory was that they were in a hurry and wanted to leave before Konoha’s forces arrived, with 'destroy everything' being the fastest option as opposed to 'kill everyone, loot the village first then destroy it'. Regardless of which theory was correct or perhaps it was a combination of all the theories, the main consequence of Uzushio’s destruction was that fuinjutsu knowledge was set back by a few hundred years. Currently, most shinobi villages only knew the most basic fuinjutsu such as creating sealing scrolls or explosion tags.

To the Five Great Shinobi Countries, Kaori-obaasan’s detection seals are considered an advanced fuinjutsu technique. However, in Uzushio this was an intermediate level technique. Kaori-obaasan explained that everyone in Uzushio could learn fuinjutsu regardless of whether they were shinobi or a civilian like her. Of course, only shinobi were taught advanced fuinjutsu which was geared towards combat.

When she was younger, Kaori-obaasan aspired to become a shinobi but did not have the talent for it, her chakra reserves did not meet the requirements to enroll into the shinobi academy. As such, she then switched her goal to mastering a single branch of fuinjutsu: chakra detection. From then on, Kaori-obaasan specialized in detection seals. 

Kaori-obaasan’s detection seals could detect chakra signatures up to fifty feet away and alert her via a fuinjutsu seal on a scroll. The rectangular paper charm hanging from a thin gold chain that I wore around my neck was actually a detection seal that allowed Kaori-obaasan to know my location. It had a range of up to a mile which was quite impressive. To my delight, Kaori-obaasan said that when I was older she would teach me fuinjutsu, including creating the seal that she used on the toboggan, one of the few that she knew outside of detection seals. Apparently, it removed all friction. If I applied it to my swords, wouldn't I be able to swing them much faster due to a lack of air resistance?

I did ask if Kaori-obaasan knew more than just detection seals. Unfortunately, Kaori-obaasan did not have the opportunity to continue her fuinjutsu lessons as Uzushio was wiped out while she was in the Capital. The world I currently lived in reminded me of the ancient era of Earth, where kingdoms would constantly fight each other for the stupidest of reasons, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Wasn’t the Trojan War caused by some guy stealing another guy’s wife?

In this world the wheels of war turned due to vengeance, greed or because someone felt offended at something, resulting in shinobi fighting against shinobi, hidden village against hidden village. As always, the once that suffered the most in war are the ordinary civilians. After the Second Shinobi World War, there was a Third Shinobi World War.

Kaa-san said the main reason for teaching all of us sword techniques was so that we could keep ourselves safe when the Fourth Shinobi World War occurred. According to Kaa-san, it was only a matter of when, not if. This was a rather scary realization as the closest that I had previously come to experiencing war was witnessing a large brawl in front of a fast food outlet where someone got stabbed to death over an argument about a chicken sandwich.

Going to sleep after being informed of all these disturbing things, I had a nightmare about all my family members dying pointless deaths during the Fourth Shinobi World War. Waking up with sweat dripping down my face, I realized that I wasn’t shivering from fear but rather from my shirt being drenched in sweat.

Right then and there under the dark morning sky, I promised myself that I would do whatever it took to protect my family; even if it meant using my Gamer ability to become Genghis Khan and conquering the Five Great Shinobi Countries, unifying them through force and establishing an empire.

This was of course the very last resort, the first being hiding my family away on some remote island. After all, we seemed to have this live-off-the-land thing down pat. All we needed was a way to generate electricity and we could use the electrical devices currently stored in my Inventory.

From what little I could remember from my high school science lessons, in order to produce electricity through electromagnetic induction I needed an iron core wrapped in copper wire with a magnet in the middle that I needed to spin around. Basically, I needed to invent the bicycle then attach a homemade dynamo to it in order to generate electricity on a small scale.

Tou-san said that electricity in the Land of Fire was generated by large hydroelectric dams. It was mind boggling to realize that the people of this world had discovered electricity and invented large-scale electricity generation yet had failed to invent the bicycle or telephones. They had hair dryers and air conditioning but still traveled around on horses or walked. It was so weird.

Looking around the campsite, I realized that the sun had yet to rise which meant that I should probably go back to sleep. Swapping my shirt for a clean one in my Inventory, I thought of all that we had accomplished so far in this unknown place.

**|[ You are now wearing Outfit: Casual Attire (Long-Sleeved T-Shirt). ]|**

The Construction Team was currently trying to build a roof over our campsite and were about halfway done. They had made rope from some of the plants that grew nearby, tying pieces of wood together to form the skeleton structure of a circular house. When completed, our house would probably resemble a large circus tent.

After they had accomplished that, they started stacking a combination of dried bark and leaves on top. Once they were done with the roof, they would be building the walls of our new house. When asked why they built the roof before the walls, Tou-san replied that he didn’t want us to get wet if it happened to rain.

The Food Gathering Team had gathered more than enough fish and rabbits to last us two months, three months if we rationed. Due to the lack of carbohydrates and the minimal amount of fruits that we could find, Kaa-san encouraged us to eat our fill of fish and rabbit meat every meal.

Kaa-san had a plan to grow potatoes using some of the potatoes that I stored inside my Inventory, but first the Construction Team needed to clear out some of the land nearby. Imagining Kaa-san growing potatoes like that scene from The Martian made me smile.

The Cooking Team had managed to process about a gallon of sea salt as well as building a rock filter for clean drinking water. Pouring water from the river through the top of the filter, Kaa-san would then boil the water. We now had about ten gallons of drinking water stored inside my Inventory in water flasks and large cooking pots. Feeling satisfied with my family’s accomplishments on this deserted coastal area, I fell asleep.

**|[ You have slept in a hammock for 2 hours. All HP and CP restored. ]|**

Waking up a few hours later just as the sun rose, it was decided that the Food Gathering Team would attempt to hunt deer for the first time. Misaki and Sakamae had grown bored of our routine so after our morning routine of fishing then lunch, we had spent the last three hours stalking an adult-sized deer.

As none of us had hunt deer before, it was a long process of trial and error as we discovered that deer have an excellent sense of smell and we needed to approach it from downwind. Misaki had also missed the first two times when she threw Nuibari at it.

Misaki complained that it wasn’t like a spear as the blade portion of Nuibari was four feet in length while its handle was a foot long. It was probably designed to be thrust instead of thrown through its target.

However, after practicing a few times on a nearby tree Misaki had claimed that she was now confident that she could hit the deer on her next throw. And so here we were, sneaking up on the elusive deer for the eighth time in three hours. As I waited for Misaki to get into position, my mind wandered.

_‘Hmmm, I wonder how much progress has been made on investigating how we got into our current situation. Gamer System, what is the status of the analysis?’_

**|[ Analysis of space-time abnormality: 1% ]|**

_‘Only 1%? But it’s been three weeks! Goodness gracious, at this rate of progression we’ll only be able to return home after a few years.’_

As Misaki crept closer towards the grazing deer with Nuibari held in her hand and prepared to throw it, the rest of us watched with bated breath. After three hours, we were growing tired of this hunt. Misaki finally relented and said that if she failed this time, I would be allowed to use my abilities to kill the deer.

Right as Misaki was about to throw Nuibari, the deer suddenly raised its head and took off running into the forest, away from our direction. Misaki tilted her head downwards and slumped her shoulders while sighing loudly.

_‘Eh, what happened this time? Did it smell Misaki again? But I’m certain that we’re downwind.’_

* * *

“We should return to the village soon, Izumi-san. This whole thing is so pointless,” Tadahiko complained as he pulled the heavy wooden cart behind him. Not only was the cart made out of wood, it currently held eight large sacks of rice. And the village was too poor to afford to buy a new horse after all their horses had been taken away by the bandits a few years ago.

The twenty-one-year-old Tadahiko had previously made the mistake of calling the sixteen-year-old Izumi by the chan prefix instead of the san prefix, leading to an argument about how the Village Elder and the Village Council had put her in charge of this mission and not him. Therefore, she was technically his superior and he was not allowed to call her by the chan prefix.

Not wanting to anger her further as he intended to seek her hand in marriage someday, Tadahiko now referred to her as Izumi-san. After all, she wasn’t just the Village Elder’s granddaughter, she was also the prettiest girl in Horei Village that wasn’t already married.

_‘It is only fitting that the strongest and bravest warrior in the village should marry the prettiest girl in the village,’_ Tadahiko thought to himself as he struggled to pull the heavy wooden cart over a particularly large tree root, huffing and grunting loudly.

Tadahiko had yet to formulate a plan to deal with the bandits but he was sure that his brilliant warrior mind would come up with something. As such, he detested the idea of Horei Village relying on outsiders for its safety, be they samurai or shinobi.

“So, it was the two of you! You idiots made so much noise that the deer ran away!” an annoyed voice loudly said, drawing Tadahiko and Izumi’s attention to a girl in a blue shirt and black shorts who was holding a long spear.

“Ok, you’ve had your chance Misaki-chan. Can’t we just let Genji-kun do his thing already, this deer hunting stuff isn’t as fun as I thought it’d be,” said another girl as she appeared from behind a tree wearing a dark red shirt and black shorts.

“But this doesn’t count, the deer only ran away because of these two noisy idiots,” the girl in blue said as she pointed at Tadahiko and Izumi with her spear.

“May I ask which village the two of you are from?” Izumi curiously asked as she finally got over her shock as the next village was a two day walk away. No one lived this close to the coast as pirates from the nearby islands liked to raid this area.

The two girls looked at each other before the one in blue replied, “We only recently settled here and are not from any nearby village. Would you mind telling us if this is the Land of Fire? If so, which coast are we on?”

“Uhm, I’ve never heard of the Land of Fire. This is the territory of the Fire Shogun, is that why you call it the Land of Fire?” Izumi asked in reply.

“What’s a Fire Shogun?” the girl in dark red curiously asked.

“How do you not know who the Fire Shogun is? Did you grow up in a cave? And you dare to call us idiots,” Tadahiko said with a smirk.

“I called you an idiot because you _are_ one! You made so much noise that the deer that we were hunting ran away,” the girl in blue huffed in response.

“That’s why people set traps to catch deer, idiot,” Tadahiko replied, his ego not allowing him to lose an argument to a stranger, much less a little girl.

“Hey, who’re you calling an idiot, idiot?” the girl in dark red said as she placed her hands on her hips, just above her swords.

“Tadahiko-san, I would appreciate it if you didn’t go insulting strangers in the forest, especially strangers with a spear and swords,” Izumi whispered, an annoyed look in her eyes.

_‘Wait, swords?’_ Izumi thought to herself as she looked carefully at the two girls standing before her. The one in blue was holding a spear with a sword attached to her hip. The one in dark red had two swords strapped to her hips, _‘Swords are expensive, so only samurai and shinobi have swords.’_

“I apologize for my travelling companion’s remarks, he did not mean any offense. My name is Izumi and his name is Tadahiko. May I ask if the two of you settled here with your families?” Izumi asked.

“Yes, we are here with our family. My name is Misaki. Which village are you from, Izumi-san? We searched along the coast for several kilometers but didn’t see anyone,” the girl in blue asked.

“What does kilometer mean? Is that a measurement for time?” Tadahiko asked.

“No, it’s to measure distance,” Misaki corrected.

“Never heard of it. We use chains and furlongs to measure distance,” Tadahiko replied.

“You use a chain to measure distance?” the girl in the dark red shirt asked in surprise.

“Not a literal chain. A hundred links make a chain and ten chains make a furlong. This is basic knowledge, how do the two of you not know this?” Tadahiko asked as he used all the self-control that he had not to insult these two girls, not willing to earn Izumi’s ire.

“And how long is a link?” Misaki asked.

“About this long,” Tadahiko replied as he placed his hands in front of him about a shoulder’s width apart.

“If you don’t mind, let’s save the discussion on units of measurement for another time. My name is Sakamae and you still haven’t answered Misaki-chan’s question, Izumi-san. Which village are you from?” the girl in dark red asked.

“Nice to meet you, Sakamae-san. We are from Horei Village, about a day’s walk that way,” Izumi replied as she pointed behind her.

“Izumi-san, I don’t think it is wise to tell strangers where our village is,” Tadahiko said as he eyed Misaki and Sakamae suspiciously.

“Hey, what did you mean by that?” Misaki said in an offended tone.

“Shut up Tadahiko-san, your stupid mouth is going to get you killed some day,” Izumi hissed in reply.

“Ahh, so sorry about that Misaki-san and Sakamae-san, he did not mean any offense. Actually, I was wondering if you and your friend-”, Izumi said.

“Sister. She’s my sister,” Misaki interjected.

“Oh, I see. Now that you mention it, I can see the resemblance. Anyways, I was wondering if you and your sister happened to be shinobi in training? After all, the both of you have swords and civilians don’t usually carry swords,” Izumi enquired.

“We’re not shinobi, we’re samurai!” a small girl excitedly announced as she popped out from behind a tree. She was wearing a pink shirt with black shorts.

Another small girl wearing a grey shirt and black shorts appeared beside the pink one and quickly pulled her back behind the tree.

“Awww, but why can’t I talk to them Rumi-channn,” a voice whined, presumably from the pink little girl.

“Oh, don’t worry so much Rumi-chan, Genji-kun is here so we’ll be fine. You worry too much,” the voice continued after a short pause from behind the tree. Misaki and Sakamae both sported amused looks on their faces.

_‘Genji? Isn’t that a guy’s name? Does that mean that there are two little girls and an adult man behind that tree?’_

“Misaki-san, why are samurai like yourself living out here in the middle of nowhere? Are you ronin?” Izumi asked, hope rising in her heart.

“Ronin? What’s a ronin?” Misaki replied with a confused look on her face.

“Izumi-san, I think they are lying. Someone claiming to be samurai but not knowing what a ronin is? And everyone knows that women can’t be samurai so they are clearly lying,” Tadahiko whispered.

“This is why the Village Council put me in charge of this mission. Don’t you know that a small portion of samurai are women? Their father is probably a samurai, so just shut up and let me do the talking,” Izumi whispered in reply, getting annoyed by Tadahiko’s bone headedness.

While she had always suspected that he lacked intelligence, after spending three weeks alone with him on this mission her suspicions had been confirmed. And to think that his father, Fujimori-san was always trying to get her to consider marrying him. Tadahiko was so useless, he had neither brains nor brawn and wasn’t handsome by any stretch of the imagination. Ugh.

“A ronin is a samurai that has lost his or her master, Misaki-san. Since you have settled out here in the middle of the forest, I assumed that you were a ronin as samurai usually stay near their masters,” Izumi replied.

“Oh, I see. In that case, I suppose you could say that we are samurai without a master. But we didn’t lose our master, we simply never had one to begin with,” Misaki replied as she looked to Sakamae for confirmation, receiving a nod in reply.

_'Strange, maybe their samurai father lost his master and never informed his children out of shame,'_ Izumi wondered.

“You mentioned a Fire Shogun, is that who the samurai in this land serve?” Sakamae asked Izumi.

“While the Fire Shogun does have samurai under his command, most samurai serve a Daimyo who in turn pledge their loyalty to the Fire Shogun,” Izumi replied.

“Oh, a Daimyo? And where is the Daimyo of this land? Is he in the Capital?” Misaki asked.

“The Daimyo lives in his castle of course, all Daimyos live in castles! How do you not know this? It’s basic knowledge, idiot!” Tadahiko exclaimed, unable to resist any longer.

“HEY! DON’T CALL MY SISTER AN IDIOT!” the small girl in the pink shirt angrily shouted as she made another appearance from behind her tree.

“Or what, little girl? You’re going to bite my ankles?” Tadahiko sneered in response.

“Or Genji-kun will get angry, and you won’t like him when he’s angry,” the little pink one threatened.

“Is Genji-kun your dog or something?” Tadahiko replied in a mocking tone.

“Tadahiko-san, what did I say about shutting up? Their father might be a samurai, so stop provoking them or have you forgotten our mission, _genius_,” Izumi angrily whispered.

“These idiots? They don’t even know basic knowledge. Let’s just leave Izumi-san, stop wasting our time with these imbeciles,” Tadahiko replied with an eye roll.

“Well that was rather rude, so I’m going to have to demand that you apologize,” a small armored form said as it appeared beside the pink-clad girl, the grey-shirt girl appearing beside it soon after.

“And I thought the one in pink was small. This one is even tinier!” Tadahiko continued his mocking as he laughed.

“Tadahiko, you idiot. Can’t you see that he’s wearing armor of some kind? Shut up, now!” Izumi said as she eyed the new stranger.

_‘While swords are expensive, full body armor is several times more expensive. And who would make armor for a little boy anyway? He’ll grow out of it within a year or two! They are clearly not ordinary samurai,’_ Izumi thought to herself.

“Here are your options: Option one, you apologize. Option two, I make you wish you apologized. Now, choose,” the small person in armor said.

“I’d like to see you try,” Tadahiko scoffed.

All that Izumi saw was a black blur rushing towards Tadahiko. One moment he was scoffing and the next moment he fell over onto the ground, clutching his crotch while moaning. When Izumi finally processed what she just saw, she gasped in shock.

“You… you’re a shinobi!” Izumi exclaimed in surprise.

“No I’m not, I’m a samurai like my sisters,” the small one in black armor replied before he kicked Tadahiko in the stomach, triggering a pathetic “oof” in response from the foolish man who had refused to heed Izumi’s advice.

“Wait, are all of you siblings?” Izumi asked.

“YES WE ARE! AND THAT’S GENJI-KUN! I told him not to make Genji-kun angry but did he listen? Nooo,” the small girl in a pink shirt said with a grin.

“I’m not angry, Kiyoko-chan. I just don’t like it when people insult my sisters in front of me,” the one called Genji said as he kicked Tadahiko in the stomach once more to emphasize his point.

“You’re angry Genji-kun, I can tell,” the one Genji had called Kiyoko replied.

“Ok, fine. Maybe I’m a little annoyed, but I’m far from angry,” Genji said as he turned around and walked away from Tadahiko who was now in the fetal position while still clutching his crotch.

“Doesn’t annoyed mean angry, Genji-kun?” Kiyoko asked.

“No, Kiyoko-chan. Annoyed is what you feel when your tower block falls over. Angry is what you feel if I throw away all your wooden blocks,” Genji replied as he once again stood beside Kiyoko.  
  


“NOOO, MY TOY BLOCKS! You wouldn’t do that me, would you Genji-kun?” Kiyoko said with a frightened voice.

“Of course not, Kiyoko-chan. I was merely trying to explain the difference between annoyed and angry, that’s all,” Genji said as he put an arm around the taller Kiyoko’s shoulder.

“As you can see, my little brother and sister are very cute,” Misaki gestured while giggling.

“And yes, all of us really are samurai. Both our parents and our grandfather are samurai too,” the little girl with the grey shirt said.

_‘Ronin! I’ve finally found ronin!’_ Izumi happily thought to herself, _‘Now I just need to convince their ronin parents to help my village.’_

“And what’s your name?” Izumi asked with a gentle smile.

“I’m Rumi,” the girl in grey responded with a neutral tone.

“Nice to meet you Rumi. And you must be Kiyoko?” Izumi asked the girl in pink.

“YES, MY NAME IS AMANO KIYOKO!” Kiyoko enthusiastically responded.

_‘They even have a family name! That settles it, they are clearly samurai. Civilians like us don’t have family names,’_ Izumi nodded to herself.

“Would you mind taking me to meet your parents? I'd like to make them an offer,” Izumi asked as politely as she could manage.

“An offer? What kind of offer?” Misaki asked, her tone shifting from playful to serious.

“Well, our village is currently in need of samurai for protection and we would like to hire your parents in exchange for a sack of rice or two,” Izumi said.

“Rice?” Misaki curiously asked.

“Yes, rice. Our village isn’t very wealthy and this is the most valuable item that we can offer,” Izumi sheepishly said.

“Well, we could use some rice. Alright, follow us,” Misaki said.

“Uhm, we might need to wait for Tadahiko-san to erm, regain his composure,” Izumi said.

“Oh, ok. While we wait, Genji-kun please go get the deer that ran off. But tomorrow when we hunt for deer, you’ll let me kill it, ok?” Misaki said as she looked at her sibling.

“Ok, Misaki-neechan. After all, you do need to get used to using Nuibari,” Genji replied before rushing away from the group in a black blur.

“Uhh, where did your little brother go?” Izumi asked, still in shock at how fast the little boy could run.

“TO GET US DINNER!” Kiyoko happily replied.

“There’s no need to shout and scare away the animals, Kiyoko-chan,” Rumi admonished.

“Sorry, Rumi-chan. I’m just excited to eat deer,” Kiyoko replied.

“I am too, but please don’t shout in the middle of a quiet forest,” Rumi said.

“Ok, Rumi-chan,” Kiyoko replied in a whisper, as she opened her arms for a hug.

“There’s no need to whisper either, Kiyoko-chan”, Rumi said with a laugh as she hugged her sister.

“The three of you are just too cute,” Misaki gushed as she walked over and ruffled their hair with her free hand.

_‘Why would they send their youngest brother to kill a deer? Well, I suppose he is rather fast and should be able-’_, Izumi thought to herself.

“I’m back!” Genji announced as a black blur ran by and stopped beside Rumi and Kiyoko.

_‘What, he’s done already? But he isn’t carrying anything though. Did he just kill it and leave it in the forest for the black bears to eat?’_ Izumi thought to herself, shocked at such wasteful behavior. After all, a deer could probably feed their entire village for one meal.

Determining not to question the children of her village’s potential savior in case it offended them, Izumi decided that the wisest course of action was keeping her lips sealed. Walking over to Tadahiko, she said, “Oi, get up. We have to go meet their parents.”

“You’re a girl, you don’t know how it feels to be hit in the family jewels,” Tadahiko groaned.

“Oh, don’t be such a baby. I just used the sheath of my wakizashi. And you deserved it for being so rude to my sisters,” Genji replied.

“YEAH, YOU DEserve it. Sorry Rumi-chan, I forgot,” Kiyoko said as she quickly lowered her loud voice, receiving a pat on the shoulder from her sister.

After a while, Tadahiko finally stood up and the rag tag bunch made their way through the forest. The group was made up of a young adult man pulling a wooden cart, a teenage girl, two young girls, two smaller girls and an even smaller boy who was strangely the only one of them wearing armor of some kind.


End file.
